Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Odell

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
C−History
History · Odell

Odell’s post office opened in 1911, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 12 old photos and papers and maps from 1957 on.

1911first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Odell’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Odell began

When was Odell founded?

1911

The Odell post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Newtown (1910), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 2,328115 years

How historic is Odell?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Odell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Odell’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Odell is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Odell’s overall grade.
Founding era1911, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194014.7% of homes (±10.2) · typical OR town 5.3% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical OR town 2.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder

Oregon towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oregon town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Odell’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Odell’s past

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

A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · By decade

Odell, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s12 items
Lunch at FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s migratory labor camp1941Lunch at FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s migrato…Sign, FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s mobile camp for migratory farm workers1941Sign, FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s mobile cam…Sign, FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s mobile camp for migratory farm workers1941Sign, FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s mobile cam…Repairing bicycle. FSA (Farm Security Administration) mobile camp for migratory farm workers. Odell, Oregon1941Repairing bicycle. FSA (Farm Security Administration)…Amateur night performer. FSA (Farm Security Administration) mobile camp for migratory farm workers. Odell, Oregon1941Amateur night performer. FSA (Farm Security Administr…Amateur night performer. FSA (Farm Security Administration) mobile camp for migratory farm workers. Odell, Oregon1941Amateur night performer. FSA (Farm Security Administr…Amateur night performer. FSA (Farm Security Administration) mobile camp for migratory farm workers. Odell, Oregon1941Amateur night performer. FSA (Farm Security Administr…Playtime at the FSA (Farm Security Administration) mobile camp for migratory farm workers. Odell, Oregon1941Playtime at the FSA (Farm Security Administration) mo…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Lunch at FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s migratory labor camp1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Lunch at FSA (Fa…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Lunch at FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s migratory labor camp1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Lunch at FSA (Fa…Lunch for children at the FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s mobile camp for migratory farm workers1941Lunch for children at the FSA (Farm Security Administ…Lunch for children at the FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s mobile camp for migratory farm workers1941Lunch for children at the FSA (Farm Security Administ…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story so far

Odell, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Odell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Odell is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 census, Odell had a population of 2,328.

Its first post office opened in 1911. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,255 to 2,328 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Odell, 1910 to 1957

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1910Post officeThe Newtown post office opens
  3. 1911Post officeThe Newtown post office closes
  4. 1911Post officeThe Odell post office opens
  5. 1941In the archiveLunch at FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s migratory labor camp
  6. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Odell on the map, 1957 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Odell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Odell on the 1957 USGS mapOdell on the 1975 USGS mapOdell on the 1994 USGS map1957Hood River sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Odell.

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.

Lunch at FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s migratory labor camp
Retake this viewLunch at FSA (Farm Security Administration)'s migratory labor camp, 1941

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Odell

Nobody well known was born in Odell itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Vic WildAmerican-born Russian snowboarder · b. 1986
Greg WaldenAmerican politician · b. 1957
Cecil D. AndrusAmerican politician · b. 1931
D
Darren MorningstarAmerican basketball player · b. 1969
V
Virginia AdmiralAmerican painter and poet · b. 1915
Clifton N. McArthurAmerican politician · b. 1879
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Odell’s post office has been open since 1911. Another post office, Newtown, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Newtown
1910–1911
Odell
1911–today
19101970today
Gone or out of use
ConwaylocaleDukes Valleylocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Odell’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLunch at FSA (Farm Security Administrat…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Odell’s history

What year was Odell founded?

The Odell post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Odell rank for history?

Odell is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Odell?

15% of Odell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.2 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1992.

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).

From the Library of Congress (12), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.