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History · Winchester Bay

Winchester Bay’s post office opened in 1916, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Winchester Bay was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listings are the Umpqua River Light House and the US Coast Guard Station-Umpqua River, Administration and Equipment Buildings. Below: maps from 1923 on.

1916first post office
2on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Winchester Bay began

When was Winchester Bay founded?

1916

The Winchester Bay post office opened in 1916, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 462110 years
Founding year: the first Winchester Bay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Winchester Bay’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Winchester Bay are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19234 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1985. Watch Winchester Bay change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Winchester Bay’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Winchester Bay on the map, 1923 to 1985

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

Winchester Bay on the 1923 USGS mapWinchester Bay on the 1942 USGS mapWinchester Bay on the 1956 USGS mapWinchester Bay on the 1985 USGS map1923Reedsport 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 Winchester Bay.

The story so far

Winchester Bay, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Winchester Bay yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Winchester Bay, formerly Umpqua City, is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Winchester Bay as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name. As of the 2020 census, Winchester Bay had a population of 462. The community of Umpqua City was established in 1850.

Its first post office opened in 1916. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 382 to 462 (+21%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Winchester Bay, 1916 to 1959

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1916Post officeThe Winchester Bay post office opens
  3. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1959Post officeThe Winchester Bay post office closes
By decade

Winchester Bay, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Area infront of RV Resort2023Area infront of RV ResortODNRA2022ODNRABrian A. Babb Memorial Bench at Salmon Harbor Marina in2018Brian A. Babb Memorial Bench at Salmon Harbor Marina …Snag above Jerden Cove2013Snag above Jerden CoveLooking inland2013Looking inlandBanshee Hill Dune2013Banshee Hill DuneWinchester Bay, Oregon2011Winchester Bay, Oregon
On the National Register

2 historic places in Winchester Bay

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Umpqua River Light House
Umpqua River Light HouseUS Coast Guard Station-Umpqua River, Administration and Equipment Buildings
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

20th Century Revivals1
Colonial1
Umpqua River Light HouseStructure
All 2 listings
US Coast Guard Station-Umpqua River, Administration and Equipment BuildingsBuilding · listed 1992

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Winchester Bay

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

See all →
Steve PrefontaineAmerican long-distance runner · b. 1951
Mel CountsAmerican basketball player · b. 1941
Claire FalkensteinAmerican artist · b. 1908
Michael WatermanAmerican scientist and professor at the Univers… · b. 1942
Lauren NewtonAmerican singer · b. 1952
Laura GibsonAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1979
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Winchester Bay had its own post office from 1916 to 1959.

Winchester Bay
1916–1959
19101970today

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

Questions about Winchester Bay’s history

What year was Winchester Bay founded?

The Winchester Bay post office opened in 1916, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Winchester Bay?

Two places: the Umpqua River Light House (listed 1977) and the US Coast Guard Station-Umpqua River, Administration and Equipment Buildings (1992).

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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.