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BHistory
History · Vernonia

Vernonia dates to 1874, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Oregon-American Lumber Company Mill Office. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1922 on, and the census since 1900.

1874founded
1on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Vernonia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Vernonia began

When was Vernonia founded?

1874

Vernonia dates its founding to 1874 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 62 in 19002020 census: 2,374152 years

How historic is Vernonia?

B

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1878.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Vernonia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vernonia is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vernonia’s overall grade.
Founding era1874, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194022.1% of homes (±6.6) · typical OR town 5.3% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 3.6 per 10,000 residents · typical OR town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 57%
NewerOlder

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 Vernonia’s 3.6 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±6.6 points). Two sources give 1874.

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 Vernonia’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.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1930 and 1960, then more than doubled.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1922 to 1926, drew every building in Vernonia.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Vernonia’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWashington Grade School, 199 Bridge Str…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Vernonia, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50019001920194019601980200020201,625 in 1930Low: 1,089

Lost a third of its people between 1930 and 1960, then more than doubled.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Every building

Vernonia, building by building, 1922–1926

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.

Vernonia fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 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.

The story

How Vernonia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Vernonia.

Read it all →

The community was first settled in 1874 by the Parker and Van Blaricom families. Cousins Judson Weed and Ozias Cherrington, both of Ohio, arrived in 1876. Sometime afterwards, the question of a name for the community came up, and Cherrington suggested the name of his daughter (Vernona) in Ohio, which was adopted. Due to a clerical error during the incorporation process, an "i" was inserted into the name. Cherrington died in a farming accident in 1894, never having seen his daughter since his departure from Ohio.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Vernonia, 1874 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874
    FoundingVernonia is established
  3. 1878Post officeThe Vernonia post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910Born hereGil Bergerson is born here
  6. 1924Born hereGeorge Amick is born here
  7. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 21st century
  9. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 2,374
By decade

Vernonia, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Washington Grade School, 199 Bridge StreetDate?Washington Grade School, 199 Bridge Street
On the map

Vernonia on the map, 1940 to 1979

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

Vernonia on the 1940 USGS mapVernonia on the 1955 USGS mapVernonia on the 1979 USGS map1940Vernonia 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 Vernonia.

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.

Washington Grade School, 199 Bridge Street
Retake this viewWashington Grade School, 199 Bridge Street

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Vernonia

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Oregon-American Lumber Company Mill Office
Oregon-American Lumber Company Mill Office
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow/Craftsman1
Oregon-American Lumber Company Mill OfficeBungalow/Craftsman

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Vernonia

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

See all →
G
George AmickAmerican racing driver · b. 1924
G
Gil BergersonAmerican football player · b. 1910
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Vernonia’s post office has been open since 1878.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Corey Hill
Gone or out of use
Lincoln Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Vernonia
Vernonia

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

Questions about Vernonia’s history

What year was Vernonia founded?

In 1874, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Vernonia’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1900 counted 62 people here.

How does Vernonia rank for history?

Vernonia is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns. 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 Vernonia?

One place: the Oregon-American Lumber Company Mill Office (listed 2002).

How old are the homes in Vernonia?

22% of Vernonia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1990.

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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.