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History · Svensen

Svensen’s post office opened in 1895, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1949 on.

1895first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Svensen’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Svensen began

When was Svensen founded?

1895

The Svensen post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hare (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 853131 years
Founding year: the first Svensen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Svensen’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Svensen’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Svensen’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 viewBoathouse on Svensen Island (south side…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Svensen came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Svensen.

Read it all →

Svensen and Svensen Island are separated by Svensen Slough on the south side of the Columbia River at River Mile 24, between Settler's Point (downstream) and Knappa (upstream). The Lewis and Clark Expedition encamped in this area on November 26, 1805, en route to winter camp at Fort Clatsop. The Corps of Discovery again passed through the area on March 24, 1806 on their return journey.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Svensen, 1891 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Hare post office opens
  3. 1895Post officeThe Hare post office closes
  4. 1895Post officeThe Svensen post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1944Post officeThe Svensen post office closes
  7. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1972In the archiveBoathouse on Svensen Island (south side of the Columbia River at River Mile 24)
By decade

Svensen, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s2 items
Boathouse on Svensen Island (south side of the Columbia River at River Mile 24)1972Boathouse on Svensen Island (south side of the Columb…NEAR THE COLUMBIA RIVER ON SVENSON ISLE1972NEAR THE COLUMBIA RIVER ON SVENSON ISLE
1980s–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
Today3 recent
Svenson Fire Station - Svenson Oregon2009Svenson Fire Station - Svenson OregonOld building - Svenson Oregon2009Old building - Svenson OregonGrange - Svenson Oregon2009Grange - Svenson Oregon
On the map

Svensen on the map, 1949 to 1984

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

Svensen on the 1949 USGS mapSvensen on the 1955 USGS mapSvensen on the 1970 USGS mapSvensen on the 1984 USGS map1949Cathlamet Bay sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Svensen.

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.

Boathouse on Svensen Island (south side of the Columbia River at River Mile 24)
Retake this viewBoathouse on Svensen Island (south side of the Columbia River at River Mile 24), 1972

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Svensen

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

See all →
R
Raymond CarverPenman, poet, screenwriter, novelist, prose wri… · b. 1938
Holly MadisonAmerican television personality · b. 1979
G
George AmickAmerican racing driver · b. 1924
K
Karl MarlantesAmerican businessman and novelist · b. 1944
Cole EscolaAmerican comedian, actor, and playwright · b. 1986
Donald MalarkeyAmerican army noncommissioned officer · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Svensen had its own post office from 1895 to 1944. Another post office, Hare, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hare
1891–1895
Svensen
1895–1944
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Svensen Junction
Gone or out of use
Svensen Post Officepost officeSvensen Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Svensen
Svensen Pioneer

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

Questions about Svensen’s history

What year was Svensen founded?

The Svensen post office opened in 1895, 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 (5), Wikipedia, 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.