Most of Waldport was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1922 on, and the census since 1920.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1881.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Waldport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waldport is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waldport’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 Waldport’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1879.
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 Waldport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Before white settlement, the Waldport area was home to the Alsi (Alsea) people, whose name for the bay and river, Alsi, meaning "peace", gave the waterway its name. During winter, extended families lived in large plank houses around the lower Alsea estuary, traveling seasonally between Seal Rock and Tenmile to fish, hunt, and gather shellfish and plants. The Alsea were part of the broader Yakonan-speaking language group along with the Yaquina, Yachats, Siuslaw, and Lower Umpqua peoples.
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.
In 1879, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Waldport’s post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1920 counted 181 people here.
How does Waldport rank for history?
Waldport is more historic than 22% 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.
How old are the homes in Waldport?
8% of Waldport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (11), the Library of Congress (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) 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.
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