Founding year: the first Pilot Rock post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1911.
History grade
What drives Pilot Rock’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pilot Rock is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pilot Rock’s overall grade.
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 Pilot Rock’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 (±8.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1911.
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 Pilot Rock’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pilot Rock yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Pilot Rock is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,328 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pendleton–Hermiston Micropolitan Statistical Area. The main industries are timber and agriculture. Pilot Rock is home to Pilot Rock High School. The name of Pilot Rock refers to a large basalt rock formation which is visible from the old Oregon Trail and was used in navigating wagon trains through the area.
Its first post office opened in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,502 to 1,328 (-12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
The Pilot Rock post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1911.
How does Pilot Rock rank for history?
Pilot Rock is more historic than 31% 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 Pilot Rock?
14% of Pilot Rock’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (3), 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.
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