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History · Summit

Summit’s post office opened in 1868

Most of Summit was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1939 on.

1868first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Summit’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Summit began

When was Summit founded?

1868

The Summit post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 72158 years
Founding year: the first Summit post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Summit’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Summit’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSummit, Oregon: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Summit, in brief

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

Summit is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Benton County, Oregon, United States. At the 2023 census population estimates, it had a population of 177. Summit lies on Oregon Route 180 northwest of Blodgett. Summit has an elevation of 718 feet (219 m). Since 1980 Summit is known locally for its small Summit Summer Festival on the third Saturday in August. At the Hippie-style gathering with food and music artisans offer their products, e.g. hand made knives, quilts; artists make their shows e.g. big soap bubbles and visitors get involved.

Its first post office opened in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 82 to 72 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Summit, 1868 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Summit post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1959Post officeThe Summit post office closes
  6. 1998In the archiveSummit, Oregon
By decade

Summit, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Summit, Oregon1998Summit, Oregon
On the map

Summit on the map, 1939 to 1984

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

Summit on the 1939 USGS mapSummit on the 1942 USGS mapSummit on the 1957 USGS mapSummit on the 1984 USGS map1939Marys Peak 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 Summit.

Famous people

Famous people close to Summit

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

See all →
Carl WiemanNobel prize winning US physicist · b. 1951
M
Meredith BrooksAmerican singer, songwriter, musician and produ… · b. 1958
Johnnie RayAmerican singer and pianist · b. 1927
Mark HatfieldAmerican politician, governor of Oregon and U. … · b. 1922
Barbara Roberts1936- American politician (1985-1991 Oregon Sec… · b. 1936
JR ReedAmerican actor · b. 1967
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Summit had its own post office from 1868 to 1959.

Summit
1868–1959
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Summit Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Summit’s history

What year was Summit founded?

The Summit post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.