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History · Scotts Mills

Scotts Mills’ post office opened in 1887, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1920.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Scotts Mills began

When was Scotts Mills founded?

1887

The Scotts Mills post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1916.

First census: 208 in 19202020 census: 419139 years
Founding year: the first Scotts Mills post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1916.

What stands out about Scotts Mills’ 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 Scotts Mills are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1940 and 1960, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Scotts Mills’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Scotts Mills’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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People over time

Scotts Mills, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020227 in 1940Low: 155

Lost a third of its people between 1940 and 1960, then more than doubled.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story so far

Scotts Mills, in brief

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

Scotts Mills is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. The population was 419 at the 2020 census, up from 357 in 2010. Scotts Mills is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is near the site of the 1993 Scotts Mills earthquake.

Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 357 to 419 (+17%).

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

Timeline

Scotts Mills, 1887 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Scotts Mills post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1967Post officeThe Scotts Mills post office closes
  6. 21st century
  7. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 419
By decade

Scotts Mills, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Picture taken from the hills of Scott's Mills, Oregon2026Picture taken from the hills of Scott's Mills, OregonButte Creek Wranglers Deliver Pony Express2025Butte Creek Wranglers Deliver Pony ExpressButte Creek Main Street Entrance2025Butte Creek Main Street EntranceButte Creek Main Street Show2022Butte Creek Main Street ShowButte Creek Campsites2022Butte Creek CampsitesUSGS Shakemap - 1993 Scotts Mills earthquake2012USGS Shakemap - 1993 Scotts Mills earthquakeThe Back Door2012The Back DoorScotts Mills Market2010Scotts Mills MarketGrandview and Third2010Grandview and ThirdCamp Dakota2010Camp DakotaORMap-doton-Scotts Mills2004ORMap-doton-Scotts Mills
On the map

Scotts Mills on the map, 1939 to 1985

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

Scotts Mills on the 1939 USGS mapScotts Mills on the 1940 USGS mapScotts Mills on the 1954 USGS mapScotts Mills on the 1970 USGS mapScotts Mills on the 1985 USGS map1939Molalla 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 Scotts Mills.

Famous people

Famous people close to Scotts Mills

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

See all →
Donald PettitAmerican astronaut · b. 1955
John ZerzanAmerican anarchist and primitivist philosopher … · b. 1943
Justin KirkAmerican actor · b. 1969
Alfred Carlton GilbertAmerican athlete, inventor, and businessman · b. 1884
D
Debbie ArmstrongAmerican alpine skier · b. 1963
Cathy McMorris RodgersAmerican politician · b. 1969
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Scotts Mills had its own post office from 1887 to 1967.

Scotts Mills
1887–1967
18801950today

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

Questions about Scotts Mills’ history

What year was Scotts Mills founded?

The Scotts Mills post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1916.

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 (11), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.