Springfield dates to 1848, and 9 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #28 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Springfield was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 9 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 251 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1868.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Springfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Springfield is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #28 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Springfield’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 Springfield’s 42.3 sits above most of its state (89% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 260 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1848.
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 Springfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first inhabitants to the area were the Kalapuya people. Also sometimes written as Calapooia or Calapooya, the people maintained the valley and their main food sources by controlled burning.
Springfield was settled when Elias and Mary Briggs and their family arrived in 1848. They were among the first party to travel to the region via the "Southern Route" by Klamath Lake, over the Cascades, into the Rogue Valley, then north to the Willamette Valley. Elias Briggs along with William Stevens ran a ferry on the nearby Willamette River.
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.
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.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Springfield’s post office has been open since 1868. Another post office, Thurston, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Springfield
1868–today
Thurston
1877–1974
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Thurston
Gone or out of use
DouglaslocaleE and S CrossinglocaleEast SpringfieldlocaleLane Community CollegeschoolMagnesslocaleMohawk JunctionlocaleParamount Post Officepost officeSaint Alice SchoolschoolSpringfield AirportairportSpringfield Middle SchoolschoolThurston Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Springfield
Old Springfield IOOFSpringfield IOOFSpringfield Memorial
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.
In 1848, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Springfield’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1860 counted 198 people here.
How does Springfield rank for history?
Springfield is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #28 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 Springfield?
9 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Robert E. Campbell House (listed 1979, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Washburne Historic District and the Dorris Ranch, with 251 contributing buildings. 260 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Springfield?
5% of Springfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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.
1907
2026
2026
2026