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CHistory
History · Oak Harbor

Oak Harbor’s post office opened in 1861, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #146 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Benjamin Loers House. Most of Oak Harbor was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1943 on, and the census since 1920.

1861first post office
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oak Harbor’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oak Harbor began

When was Oak Harbor founded?

1861

The Oak Harbor post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1915.

First census: 337 in 19202020 census: 24,622165 years

How historic is Oak Harbor?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Oak Harbor post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1915.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Oak Harbor’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oak Harbor is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #146 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oak Harbor’s overall grade.
Founding era1861, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.3% of homes (±0.9) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.4 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 27%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 49%

Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oak Harbor’s 0.4 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Washington 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 C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1915.

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 Oak Harbor’s past

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

Lost villages5 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.Famous sons and daughtersPatricia McPherson, Marti Malloy and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Oak Harbor’s post office has been open since 1861.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Harborview Mobile Home ParkOak Hollow Mobile Home ParkParkwood Manor Mobile Home ParkWestern Village Mobile EstatesWindmill Mobile Home Courts
Gone or out of use
Ault Field Road Sand Quarrymine

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

By decade

Oak Harbor, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s12 items
A. W. Bash receiving flower from daugher Cora Clementine Bash in meadow on Bash Farm, Whidbey Island, circa 1890c. 1890A. W. Bash receiving flower from daugher Cora Clement…AW Bash holding his daughter Cora Clementine Bash in wheat field on Bash Farm with Puget Sound in the background, Whidb…c. 1890AW Bash holding his daughter Cora Clementine Bash in …A.W. Bash in large wheat field at Bash Farm, Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island, circa 1890c. 1890A.W. Bash in large wheat field at Bash Farm, Oak Harb…Oak Harbor across Puget Sound seen from wharf, Whidbey Island, approximately 1890c. 1890Oak Harbor across Puget Sound seen from wharf, Whidbe…Oak Harbor beach and landscape seen across the water from the wharf, Whidbey Island, approximately 1890c. 1890Oak Harbor beach and landscape seen across the water …Woman feeding Leghorn and Plymouth Rock chickens at Bash farm at Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island, ca. 1890c. 1890Woman feeding Leghorn and Plymouth Rock chickens at B…A.W. Bash and daughter Cora Clementine and Clydesdale horses, Bash farm at Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island, ca. 1895c. 1895A.W. Bash and daughter Cora Clementine and Clydesdale…A.W. Bash and daughter Cora Clementine and man viewing oat field in salt marsh area on the Bash farm at Oak Harbor, Whi…c. 1895A.W. Bash and daughter Cora Clementine and man viewin…AW Bash and daughter Cora Clementine seated in timothy field watching a man driving a harvester, Bash farm at Oak Harbo…c. 1895AW Bash and daughter Cora Clementine seated in timoth…A.W. Bash and daughter Cora Clementine seated on pilings, Oak Harbor wharf, Whidbey Island, ca. 1895c. 1895A.W. Bash and daughter Cora Clementine seated on pili…Cora Clemintine Bash watching man driving a reaper at the Bash farm at Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island, ca. 1895c. 1895Cora Clemintine Bash watching man driving a reaper at…Jersey cattle on the Bash Farm at Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island, Washington, ca. 1895c. 1895Jersey cattle on the Bash Farm at Oak Harbor, Whidbey…
1900s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Oakharboroak2007OakharboroakOHWildcatStad2007OHWildcatStadUS Navy 040831-N-4385W-022 Builder 2nd Class Tony Conlon, of Oak Harbor, Wash., performs an operational test on a Rigid…2004US Navy 040831-N-4385W-022 Builder 2nd Class Tony Con…US Navy 040617-N-5134H-002 A U.S. Air Force Parachutist, assigned to the 66th Training Squadron, prepares to land in th…2004US Navy 040617-N-5134H-002 A U.S. Air Force Parachuti…US Navy 040417-N-6901L-001 U.S. Navy divers assigned to the Naval Reserves (NR) Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit…2004US Navy 040417-N-6901L-001 U.S. Navy divers assigned …
Famous people

9 famous people were born in Oak Harbor

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

See all →
Patricia McPhersonAmerican actress · b. 1954
M
Marti MalloyAmerican judoka · b. 1986
Christopher SeanAmerican actor · b. 1985
Laurence BallardAmerican actor · b. 1954
M
Michael HarringAmerican film director · b. 1979
Dell BullUnited States naval officer · b. 1965
The story

How Oak Harbor came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oak Harbor.

Read it all →

The Lower Skagit people have inhabited Oak Harbor (Lushootseed: təqucid) and the nearby Crescent Harbor (Lushootseed: č̓itusəb) since time immemorial. There were several villages in the vicinity, and the modern settlement of Oak Harbor was built over one such village.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oak Harbor, 1861 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1861Post officeThe Oak Harbor post office opens
  3. 1890In the archiveA. W. Bash receiving flower from daugher Cora Clementine Bash in meadow on Bash Farm, Whi…
  4. 20th century
  5. 1911BuiltBenjamin Loers House is built
  6. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1954Born herePatricia McPherson is born here
  8. 1954Born hereLaurence Ballard is born here
  9. 1985Born hereChristopher Sean is born here
  10. 1986Born hereMarti Malloy is born here
On the map

Oak Harbor on the map, 1943 to 1998

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

Oak Harbor on the 1943 USGS mapOak Harbor on the 1951 USGS mapOak Harbor on the 1973 USGS mapOak Harbor on the 1998 USGS map1943Deception Pass 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 Oak Harbor.

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.

A. W. Bash receiving flower from daugher Cora Clementine Bash in meadow on Bash Farm, Whidbey Island, circa 1890
Retake this viewA. W. Bash receiving flower from daugher Cora Clementine Bash in meadow on Bash Farm, Whidbey Island, circa 1890, c. 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Oak Harbor

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
1977
Benjamin Loers House
Benjamin Loers House, built 1911
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neoclassical Revival1
Benjamin Loers HouseNeoclassical Revival · Built 1911

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

People over time

Oak Harbor, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00019201940196019802000202024,622

Grew from 337 people in 1920 to 24,622 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Oak Harbor’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA. W. Bash receiving flower from daughe…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Whidbey Island StationIts storyD−

Questions about Oak Harbor’s history

What year was Oak Harbor founded?

The Oak Harbor post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1915.

How does Oak Harbor rank for history?

Oak Harbor is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #146 of 285 in Washington. 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 Oak Harbor?

One place: the Benjamin Loers House (listed 1977).

How old are the homes in Oak Harbor?

1% of Oak Harbor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington 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 Wikimedia Commons (17), 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) 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.