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C+History
History · Reedsport

Reedsport dates to 1852, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #57 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it

Most of Reedsport was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Its Register listing is the Umpqua River Bridge No. 01822. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1920.

1852founded
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Reedsport’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Reedsport began, and where its name came from

When was Reedsport founded?

1852

Reedsport dates its founding to 1852 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 850 in 19202020 census: 4,310174 years

How did Reedsport get its name?

Reedsport was named for a local settler, Alfred W. Reed, who founded the city in 1912.

How historic is Reedsport?

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More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1912. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Reedsport’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Reedsport is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #57 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Reedsport’s overall grade.
Founding eraWithout a firm founding date for Reedsport, this grade rests on its old homes and Register listings–Homes built before 19408.7% of homes (±4.0) · typical OR town 5.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 2.3 per 10,000 residents · typical OR town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Oregon towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 60%

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 Reedsport’s 2.3 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1852.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Reedsport’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19234 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1985. Watch Reedsport change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Reedsport’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewUmpqua River Bridge, Spanning Umpqua Ri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Reedsport on the map, 1923 to 1985

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

Reedsport on the 1923 USGS mapReedsport on the 1942 USGS mapReedsport on the 1956 USGS mapReedsport on the 1985 USGS map1923Reedsport 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 Reedsport.

The story

How Reedsport came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Reedsport.

Read it all →

Reedsport was established on the estuary of the Umpqua River on January 7, 1852. It was named for a local settler, Alfred W. Reed, who founded the city in 1912. The post office was established July 17, 1912.

The building of Southern Pacific Railroad lines extending south to Coos Bay led to the development of Reedsport. Before the post office was established in 1912, Reedsport was a camp for railroad construction workers.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Reedsport, 1852 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852
    FoundingReedsport is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912Post officeThe Reedsport post office opens
  5. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1936BuiltUmpqua River Bridge No. 01822 is built
By decade

Reedsport, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Umpqua River Bridge, Spanning Umpqua River at Oregon Coast HighwayDate?Umpqua River Bridge, Spanning Umpqua River at Oregon …
Today6 recent
Reedsport - DPLA - 986927666dd183ed5c3683a0da9fc2fd2021Reedsport - DPLA - 986927666dd183ed5c3683a0da9fc2fdReedsport - DPLA - 7ee28ed303573d065f4a574affc9d1bc2016Reedsport - DPLA - 7ee28ed303573d065f4a574affc9d1bcReedsport - DPLA - a82ab11cb005081d13a0fc74cc9306ce2013Reedsport - DPLA - a82ab11cb005081d13a0fc74cc9306ceReedsport - DPLA - c75c9ec3f459def4a06fd41ec00eb2bc2011Reedsport - DPLA - c75c9ec3f459def4a06fd41ec00eb2bcReedsport - DPLA - c653cca43fa6649e956177803686b2e82011Reedsport - DPLA - c653cca43fa6649e956177803686b2e8Reedsport - DPLA - 1d835d1c809cb2fb632cdb1b57df19012011Reedsport - DPLA - 1d835d1c809cb2fb632cdb1b57df1901
Every building

Reedsport, building by building, 1920

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 sheet.

Reedsport fire insurance map, 1920, sheet 11920Sheet 1 of 4
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.

Umpqua River Bridge, Spanning Umpqua River at Oregon Coast Highway
Retake this viewUmpqua River Bridge, Spanning Umpqua River at Oregon Coast Highway

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Reedsport

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2005
Umpqua River Bridge No. 01822
Umpqua River Bridge No. 01822, built 1936
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Classic Revival1
Late Gothic Revival1
Modern Movement: Art Deco1
Moderne1
Umpqua River Bridge No. 01822Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals · Built 1936

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Reedsport, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,984

Between 850 and 4,984 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Reedsport’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Reedsport’s history

What year was Reedsport founded?

In 1852, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Reedsport’s post office opened in 1912, and the census of 1920 counted 850 people here.

How does Reedsport rank for history?

Reedsport is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #57 of 142 in Oregon. 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 Reedsport?

One place: the Umpqua River Bridge No. 01822 (listed 2005).

How old are the homes in Reedsport?

9% of Reedsport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.