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B−History
History · Stayton

Stayton dates to 1866, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #55 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it

Most of Stayton was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1880.

1866founded
4on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Stayton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Stayton began

When was Stayton founded?

1866

Stayton dates its founding to 1866 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 226 in 18802020 census: 8,244160 years

How historic is Stayton?

B−

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Stayton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stayton is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #55 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 Stayton’s overall grade.
Founding era1866, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.4% of homes (±4.4) · typical OR town 5.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register4 listings, 5 historic buildings, 6.0 per 10,000 residents · typical OR town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder
Oregon towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 62%

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 Stayton’s 6.0 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). Two sources give 1866.

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 Stayton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.On the map since 19255 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1986. Watch Stayton change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stayton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBaptism in Salem Ditch: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 historic places in Stayton

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Charles and Martha Brown House
Charles and Martha Brown House, built 1902Deidrich Building, built 1912Hobson-Gehlen General Merchandise StoreBeauchamp Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne Style1
Late 19th and 20th Century American Movements: Commercial Style1
Charles and Martha Brown HouseQueen Anne Style · Built 1902
Deidrich BuildingLate 19th and 20th Century American Movements: Commercial Style · Built 1912
Hobson-Gehlen General Merchandise StoreBuilding
Beauchamp BuildingBuilding

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

On the map

Stayton on the map, 1925 to 1986

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

Stayton on the 1925 USGS mapStayton on the 1941 USGS mapStayton on the 1957 USGS mapStayton on the 1969 USGS mapStayton on the 1986 USGS map1925Stayton 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 Stayton.

The story

How Stayton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stayton.

Read it all →

Stayton was founded by Drury Smith Stayton, who purchased the town site in 1866 and built a carding mill and sawmill on a watercourse of the North Santiam River. In 1872, he platted the town site, and that same year the community received a post office. A ferry crossing of the Santiam River operated from 1876 until a bridge was constructed in 1888. By 1880, a laundry had been established by Kee Sing and Tom. The first newspaper, The Stayton Sun, was published in 1889 by T. H. McGill.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stayton, 1866 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866
    FoundingStayton is established
  3. 1872Post officeThe Stayton post office opens
  4. 1895Born hereArnold J. Funk is born here
  5. 1896In the archiveBaptism in Salem Ditch
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902BuiltCharles and Martha Brown House is built
  8. 1911Post officeThe West Stayton post office opens
  9. 1912BuiltDeidrich Building is built
  10. 1913Born hereTerry Schrunk is born here
  11. 1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1935In the archiveMobile migratory labor camp unit at Stayton, Oregon
  13. 1940In the archiveMobile migratory labor camp unit at Stayton, Oregon
  14. 1953Post officeThe West Stayton post office closes
  15. 1960Born hereJay Baller is born here
By decade

Stayton, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Baptism in Salem Ditch1896Baptism in Salem Ditch
1900s–1920snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1930s–1940s2 items
Mobile migratory labor camp unit at Stayton, Oregon1935Mobile migratory labor camp unit at Stayton, OregonMobile migratory labor camp unit at Stayton, Oregon1940Mobile migratory labor camp unit at Stayton, Oregon
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Salem Ditch (Marion County, OR)2023Salem Ditch (Marion County, OR)Santiam Depot2002Santiam Depot
Every building

Stayton, building by building, 1913

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 sheet.

Stayton fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 4
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.

Baptism in Salem Ditch
Retake this viewBaptism in Salem Ditch, 1896

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Stayton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Stayton, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000188019001920194019601980200020208,244

Grew from 226 people in 1880 to 8,244 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Stayton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Jay BallerAmerican baseball player · b. 1960
Terry SchrunkAmerican politician · b. 1913
A
Arnold J. FunkUnited States Army general · b. 1895
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Stayton’s post office has been open since 1872. Another post office, West Stayton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Stayton
1872–today
West Stayton
1911–1953
18701950today
1cemetery inside Stayton
Lone Oak

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

Questions about Stayton’s history

What year was Stayton founded?

In 1866, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Stayton’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1880 counted 226 people here.

How does Stayton rank for history?

Stayton is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #55 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 Stayton?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Charles and Martha Brown House (listed 2002, the first). 5 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Stayton?

7% of Stayton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1985.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.