Founding year: the first Yoncalla post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1901.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Yoncalla’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Yoncalla is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Yoncalla’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 Yoncalla’s 10.3 sits above most of its state (73% 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 (±5.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1901.
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 Yoncalla’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Settlers first came to the area that would become Yoncalla in a covered wagon in the fall of 1848. Jesse Applegate arrived in 1849, and named the area after the Yoncalla-speaking Native Americans of the region.
In 1920 Yoncalla received attention for electing a female mayor and an all-female city council. Nearly a century later, in 2018, the city elected 18-year old Ben Simons mayor.
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.
The Yoncalla post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1901.
How does Yoncalla rank for history?
Yoncalla is more historic than 50% 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 Yoncalla?
One place: the Charles Applegate House (listed 1975).
How old are the homes in Yoncalla?
11% of Yoncalla’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 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 (7), the Library of Congress (4), 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.
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