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History · Plush

Plush’s post office opened in 1888, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Mike Lemmon · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Plush began

When was Plush founded?

1888

The Plush post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 39138 years
Founding year: the first Plush post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Plush’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Plush are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Plush’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Plush’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Plush came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Plush.

Read it all →

People have lived in the Warner Valley for more than 10,000 years. Evidence of Native American occupation includes petroglyphs, hunting blinds, flakes from obsidian tools, and other material artifacts. By historic times, the Kidütökadö band of Northern Paiute frequented the valley and the uplands of Hart Mountain, the fault block ridge to the east.

The Euro-American settler community of Plush developed in the late 19th century around sheep grazing and small cattle ranches. Catholics from Ireland found work here as shepherds; their surnames and their churches are part of the regional heritage.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Plush, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Warner Wetlands Map2021Warner Wetlands MapMapPlush, Oregon, school2015Plush, Oregon, schoolPlush - DPLA - 71773b54ce4c3ff687877a659eee86cd2015Plush - DPLA - 71773b54ce4c3ff687877a659eee86cdChurch in2015Church inPlush, Oregon2011Plush, OregonPlush, Oregon2007Plush, Oregon
On the map

Plush on the map in 1967

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Plush.

Plush on the 1967 USGS map1967Plush sheet · 1:24,000

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

Questions about Plush’s history

What year was Plush founded?

The Plush post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.