Toledo’s post office opened in 1868, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 73% of U.S. towns · #18 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Its Register listings are the St. John's Episcopal Church and the Pacific Spruce Saw Mill Tenant Houses. Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Toledo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1905.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Toledo’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Toledo is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #18 of 142 in Oregon. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Toledo’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 Toledo’s 14.1 sits above most of its state (76% 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 B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1905.
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 Toledo’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
European-American settlement in Toledo began in 1866, when John Graham, his son Joseph, and William Mackey, claimed land made available by the Homestead Act of 1862. The site was called "Graham's Landing" until a post office was established two years later. Joseph D. Graham, John's son, named the post office for Toledo, Ohio, because he was homesick. William Mackey was the first postmaster.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Toledo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1942Toledo 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 Toledo.
Every building
Toledo, building by building, 1912–1919
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.
1912Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Toledo
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
AltreelocaleBittner Plug Lumber CompanylocaleMary Harrison SchoolschoolNature Discovery Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Toledo’s history
What year was Toledo founded?
The Toledo post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1905.
How does Toledo rank for history?
Toledo is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #18 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 Toledo?
Two places: the St. John's Episcopal Church (listed 1990) and the Pacific Spruce Saw Mill Tenant Houses (1999).
How old are the homes in Toledo?
27% of Toledo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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