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History · Oakland

Oakland’s post office opened in 1852, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 132 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers.

1852first post office
1on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oakland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oakland began

When was Oakland founded?

1852

The Oakland post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1878.

2020 census: 934174 years
Founding year: the first Oakland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1878.The full story ↓

What stands out about Oakland’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Oakland Historic District takes in 132 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 132 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
132
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Oakland Historic District
Oakland Historic District
Districts
Oakland Historic DistrictDistrict

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Oakland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oakland’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewLouis Powell House, Second Avenue & Map…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Oakland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oakland.

Read it all →

Oakland was the first city to be placed on the state's historic register, in May 1968. The city's two-block business district consists of the original brick buildings built in the 1880s and 1890s. Stearns Hardware has been in operation since 1887, which has occupied the Stearns Hardware Building since it was built in 1891. Over 80 properties in the city were constructed between 1852 and 1890. The Oakland Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 1979.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oakland, 1852 to 1963

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Oakland post office opens
  3. 1870Born hereElgin V. Kuykendall is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1963Born hereTammy Smith is born here
By decade

Oakland, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Louis Powell House, Second Avenue & Maple StreetDate?Louis Powell House, Second Avenue & Maple StreetEdward G. Young House, Second Avenue & Maple StreetDate?Edward G. Young House, Second Avenue & Maple Street
Today2 recent
Oakland, Oregon 11- city park2016Oakland, Oregon 11- city parkORMap-doton-Oakland2004ORMap-doton-Oakland
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Louis Powell House, Second Avenue & Maple Street
Retake this viewLouis Powell House, Second Avenue & Maple Street

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oakland’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Oakland

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Tammy SmithUnited States Army officer · b. 1963
E
Elgin V. KuykendallAmerican politician and judge · b. 1870

Questions about Oakland’s history

What year was Oakland founded?

The Oakland post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1878.

What is on the National Register in Oakland?

One place: the Oakland Historic District (listed 1979).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.