Oregon City dates to 1829, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #8 of 142 in Oregon State. What drives it
25 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 59 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1884 on.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1847.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Oregon City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oregon City is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #8 of 142 in Oregon State. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oregon City’s overall grade.
Oregon State towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oregon State town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oregon City’s 21.7 sits above most of its state (82% of Oregon State towns have fewer) while its 82 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1829.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Oregon City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Oregon City’s post office has been open since 1847. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Oregon City
1847–today
Park Place
1890–1954
Ely
1891–1904
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CanemahClackamas HeightsMount PleasantPark Place
Gone or out of use
Barclay SchoolschoolClackamas Heights AirstripairportEly Post Officepost officeGlen OaklocaleMaple Lane SchoolschoolMason AirstripairportP R L and P CrossinglocalePark Place Post Officepost officeRobbinslocaleW V S Crossinglocale
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oregon City
Draper FamilyIndependent Order of Odd FellowsMasonicMountain ViewSaint PaulsStraight Pioneer
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The land was originally home to Clowwewalla, Cashhooks and the Molalla Native Americans.
Known in recent decades as the site of several large paper mills on the Willamette River, the city played a significant role in the early history of the Oregon Country. It was established by Hudson's Bay Company's Dr. John McLoughlin in 1829 near the confluence of the Clackamas River with the Willamette to take advantage of the power of Willamette Falls to run a lumber mill. During the 1840s and 1850s it was the destination for those wanting to file land claims after traveling the Oregon Trail as the last stop on the trail.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oregon City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1914Oregon City 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 Oregon City.
Every building
Oregon City, building by building, 1884–1911
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewOregon City 1845 by Warre, c. 1845
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oregon City’s page.
In 1829, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Oregon City’s post office opened in 1847.
How does Oregon City rank for history?
Oregon City is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #8 of 142 in Oregon State. 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.
What is on the National Register in Oregon City?
25 listings: 21 buildings, among them the McLoughlin House National Historic Site (listed 1966, the first), 1 historic district, the Canemah Historic District, with 59 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures. 82 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Oregon City?
11% of Oregon City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon State town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (25), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1850
c. 1850
1867
