Sheridan’s post office opened in 1866, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #70 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Sheridan was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Its Register listing is the Travelers Home. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Sheridan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sheridan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sheridan is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #70 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sheridan’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 Sheridan’s 1.6 sits near the middle of its state (43% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Sheridan’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Absolem B. Faulconer laid out the plat for what became the city of Sheridan in the mid-1860s. This plat was recorded with the county on December 13, 1866. He had settled in the area in 1847. The Sheridan post office was established on April 4, 1866, with Absolem's brother Thomas serving as postmaster. By 1871, the town had grown to include two blacksmith shops, one church, one school, one hotel, one wagon shop, and two general stores. In October 1878, the Dayton, Sheridan and Grand Ronde Railroad, a narrow-gauge railway, reached the community.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Sheridan’s history
What year was Sheridan founded?
The Sheridan post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sheridan rank for history?
Sheridan is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #70 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 Sheridan?
One place: the Travelers Home (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Sheridan?
9% of Sheridan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (12), 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.
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