Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listings are the George F. Moeck House and the Woodbine Cemetery-Green Mountain Cemetery. Its Register listings are the George F. Moeck House and the Woodbine Cemetery-Green Mountain Cemetery.
The Rainier post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1885. Another post office, Eminence (1851), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rainier is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Rainier’s 9.4 sits above most of its state (70% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rainier’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Rainier.
Rainier was founded in 1851 on the south bank of the Columbia River by Charles E. Fox, the town's first postman. First called Eminence, its name was later changed to Fox's Landing and finally to Rainier. The name Rainier was taken from Mount Rainier in Washington, which can be seen from hills above the city. Rainier was incorporated in 1881.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Rainier’s post office has been open since 1852. Another post office, Eminence, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Rainier post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1885.
Rainier is more historic than 70% 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.
Two places: the George F. Moeck House (listed 1978) and the Woodbine Cemetery-Green Mountain Cemetery (2001).
29% of Rainier’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1972.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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