Roseburg dates to 1851, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #17 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
17 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 374 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Roseburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roseburg is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #17 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roseburg’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 Roseburg’s 163 sits above most of its state (96% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 387 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1851.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Roseburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Modern-day Roseburg is located on the former lands of numerous Indian tribes, including the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe, whose Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation is located in Roseburg. Roseburg was the site of the 1855 Battle of Hungry Hill, part of the Rogue River Wars of 1855–56, fought between several southern Oregon Indian groups and the US Army.
The city was named for settler Aaron Rose, who established a homestead within the current city limits on September 23, 1851. Rose was born in 1813 in Ulster County, New York. In 1851, he came to Oregon from Coldwater, Michigan, where he had lived since 1837.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Roseburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Roseburg 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 Roseburg.
Every building
Roseburg, building by building, 1884–1920
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 year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
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.
Retake this view18630617 Application, 1863
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Roseburg’s page.
In 1851, according to Wikidata. Roseburg’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1860 counted 835 people here.
How does Roseburg rank for history?
Roseburg is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #17 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 Roseburg?
17 listings: 13 buildings, among them the Creed Floed House (listed 1974, the first), and 4 historic districts with 374 contributing buildings. 387 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Roseburg?
15% of Roseburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (5), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (17), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1888
2008
