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History · Rhododendron

Rhododendron’s post office opened in 1920, and 58% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Reid's, Wilbur and Evelyn, Alderbrook Lodge. Below: maps from 1962 on.

1920first post office
1on the National Register
58%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Rhododendron began

When was Rhododendron founded?

1920

The Rhododendron post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Faubion (1925), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 262106 years
Founding year: the first Rhododendron post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Rhododendron’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 Rhododendron are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Rhododendron’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rhododendron’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Rhododendron, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rhododendron yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Rhododendron is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. It is located within the Mount Hood Corridor, between Government Camp and Zigzag on U.S. Route 26 (a.k.a. the Mount Hood Scenic Byway). It is one of the communities that make up the Villages at Mount Hood. As of the 2020 census, Rhododendron had a population of 262. A post office was established in the area in 1909 and named "Rowe" after Henry S. Rowe, a mayor of Portland, Oregon, who was interested in developing the state's scenic attractions. In 1917 the office was renamed "Zig Zag" and shortly thereafter "Zigzag". (The name was later reused for the post office in the …

Its first post office opened in 1920.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Rhododendron, 1920 to 1962

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1920Post officeThe Rhododendron post office opens
  3. 1925Post officeThe Faubion post office opens
  4. 1937Post officeThe Faubion post office closes
  5. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Rhododendron, decade by decade

Today12 recent
2017-07-16 Rhododendron 0420172017-07-16 Rhododendron 042017-07-16 Rhododendron 0320172017-07-16 Rhododendron 032017-07-16 Rhododendron 0220172017-07-16 Rhododendron 022017-07-16 Rhododendron 0120172017-07-16 Rhododendron 012017-06-25 Rhododendron 0320172017-06-25 Rhododendron 032017-06-25 Rhododendron 0220172017-06-25 Rhododendron 022017-06-25 Rhododendron 0120172017-06-25 Rhododendron 01Shadow Selfie (and Tree)2016Shadow Selfie (and Tree)Mount Hood Oregon2016Mount Hood OregonLight Through the Forest2016Light Through the ForestLast Light and Shadow2016Last Light and ShadowAlderbrook Lodge2014Alderbrook Lodge
On the map

Rhododendron on the map, 1962 to 1997

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

Rhododendron on the 1962 USGS mapRhododendron on the 1980 USGS mapRhododendron on the 1997 USGS map1962Rhododendron 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 Rhododendron.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Rhododendron

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Reid's, Wilbur and Evelyn, Alderbrook Lodge
Reid's, Wilbur and Evelyn, Alderbrook Lodge
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Prairie School1
Craftsman1
All 1 listings
Reid's, Wilbur and Evelyn, Alderbrook LodgeBuilding · listed 2004

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Rhododendron

Nobody well known was born in Rhododendron itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Burt RutanAmerican aerospace engineer · b. 1943
Vic WildAmerican-born Russian snowboarder · b. 1986
Cecil D. AndrusAmerican politician · b. 1931
Nigel Williams-GossAmerican basketball player · b. 1994
D
Darren MorningstarAmerican basketball player · b. 1969
Ava Helen PaulingAmerican activist · b. 1903
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Rhododendron’s post office has been open since 1920. Another post office, Faubion, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rhododendron
1920–today
Faubion
1925–1937
19201970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Faubion
Gone or out of use
Bruin Run CampgroundparkFaubion Post Officepost officeZigzag River Campgroundpark

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Mount Hood Villages3 historic placesB+

Questions about Rhododendron’s history

What year was Rhododendron founded?

The Rhododendron post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Rhododendron?

One place: the Reid's, Wilbur and Evelyn, Alderbrook Lodge (listed 2004).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.