Warrenton dates to 1889, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #38 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Daniel Knight Warren House and the Fort Stevens. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Warrenton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Warrenton is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #38 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 Warrenton’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 Warrenton’s 4.7 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±6.8 points). Two sources give 1889.
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 Warrenton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Warrenton’s post office has been open since 1892. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Lexington
1850–1857
Graham
1880–1881
Warrenton
1892–today
Flavel
1895–1918
Hammond
1897–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FlavelHammond
Gone or out of use
BioproductslocaleFlavel Post Officepost officeFort Stevens StationlocaleGraham Post Officepost officeKindred Post Officepost officeLexington Post Officepost officeMeriwetherlocaleNavy 10151 Post Officepost officePoint Adams StationlocaleSkipanonlocaleStock Yard SpurlocaleWarrenton Clay Spurlocale
1cemetery inside Warrenton
Ocean View
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Prior to the arrival of the first settlers, this land was inhabited by the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, whose tribe spanned from the south shore of the Columbia River to Tillamook Head. The county in which Warrenton is located was named after these people, as well as the last encampment that the Lewis and Clark Expedition established. Today, a replica of Fort Clatsop still stands just outside of Warrenton city limits.
The first pioneers who settled on the land that would become Warrenton (between 1845 and the early 1850s) were Jeremiah Gerome Tuller, J. W. Wallace, D. E. Pease, Ninian A. Eberman and George Washington Coffenbury. Coffenbury remains a household name in the town, as a local lake in Fort Stevens was named after him.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Warrenton, census by census
Grew from 332 people in 1900 to 6,277 in 2020, more than tenfold.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Warrenton’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Warrenton’s history
What year was Warrenton founded?
In 1889, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Warrenton’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1900 counted 332 people here.
How does Warrenton rank for history?
Warrenton is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #38 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 Warrenton?
Two places: the Daniel Knight Warren House (listed 1988) and the Fort Stevens (1971).
How old are the homes in Warrenton?
18% of Warrenton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), 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) 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.
![Driving first pile, hill terminals, Flavel, Or., June 3, [19]14](https://images.townratings.com/story/14548/53947a750fe06e0836d6-s.jpg)
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