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BHistory
History · Oroville

Oroville dates to 1892, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Smith, Hiram F., Orchard. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1910.

1892founded
1on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oroville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oroville began

When was Oroville founded?

1892

Oroville dates its founding to 1892 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 495 in 19102020 census: 1,795134 years

How historic is Oroville?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1893.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Oroville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oroville is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oroville’s overall grade.
Founding era1892, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.6% of homes (±8.2) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 6.2 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
NewerOlder

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 Oroville’s 6.2 sits above most of its state (78% 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 B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.2 points). Two sources give 1892.

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 Oroville’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Oroville’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · The story

How Oroville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oroville.

Read it all →

Oroville was first settled by European settlers in the late 1850s and known as 'rag town.' The settlement was named Oro, after the Spanish word for gold, in 1892 after the surrounding gold mines and in an attempt to attract prospectors and merchants. The Post Office objected to the name "Oro" because a town was already named "Oso" in Washington, so the name was changed to Oroville, in 1909. Oroville was a stop along the Spokane Falls and Northern Railway line from British Columbia to Spokane, via Molson and Chesaw. In 1914 a third branch south to Wenatchee was constructed to avoid the steep inclines on the original Spokane track.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oroville, 1892 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892
    FoundingOroville is established
  3. 1893Post officeThe Oroville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1914In the archiveRailway Age Great Northern Line from Oroville to Wenatchee 1914
  6. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1965Born hereEric Engstrom is born here
  8. 1968In the archiveFLOOR PLAN AND SECTION DRAWING OF POWERHOUSE FOUNDATION AND DRAFT TUBE Power House Plan a…
By decade

Oroville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Railway Age Great Northern Line from Oroville to Wenatchee 19141914Railway Age Great Northern Line from Oroville to Wena…
1920s–1950snothing 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
1960s3 items
FLOOR PLAN AND SECTION DRAWING OF POWERHOUSE FOUNDATION AND DRAFT TUBE Power House Plan and Sections, drawing E-965. Pr…1968FLOOR PLAN AND SECTION DRAWING OF POWERHOUSE FOUNDATI…PLAN AND SECTION DRAWINGS OF ELECTRICAL SWITCH GEAR, BUSES AND OTHER EQUIPMENT, AS INSTALLED IN POWERHOUSE Switchboard …1968PLAN AND SECTION DRAWINGS OF ELECTRICAL SWITCH GEAR, …SECTION DRAWING OF SURGE TANK, PENSTOCK, AND POWERHOUSE, SHOWING TURBINE, GENERATOR, AND TRANSFORMERS INSTALLED IN POWE…1968SECTION DRAWING OF SURGE TANK, PENSTOCK, AND POWERHOU…
1970s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Enloe Dam, On Similkameen RiverDate?Enloe Dam, On Similkameen River
Today15 recent
Oroville Washington - aerial2024Oroville Washington - aerialOsoyoos Lake2012Osoyoos LakeInto woods of north Okanogan County2009Into woods of north Okanogan CountyHeading up on an obscure road east from2009Heading up on an obscure road east fromOsoyoos Lake2008Osoyoos LakeOld Customs House in2008Old Customs House inOroville, WA - Turner Building2006Oroville, WA - Turner BuildingOroville, WA - Oroville Pharmacy2006Oroville, WA - Oroville PharmacyOroville, WA - Old Hotel Radbourn2006Oroville, WA - Old Hotel RadbournOroville, WA - Old Garage2006Oroville, WA - Old GarageOroville, WA - Old Bank Building2006Oroville, WA - Old Bank BuildingOroville, WA - Odd Fellows Hall2006Oroville, WA - Odd Fellows HallOroville, WA - Main Street business2006Oroville, WA - Main Street businessOroville, WA - Covert Building2006Oroville, WA - Covert BuildingMain Street2006Main Street
On the map

Oroville on the map, 1957 to 2001

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

Oroville on the 1957 USGS mapOroville on the 1975 USGS mapOroville on the 1982 USGS mapOroville on the 2001 USGS map1957Oroville 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 Oroville.

Every building

Oroville, building by building, 1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Oroville fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 21909Sheet 2 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Railway Age Great Northern Line from Oroville to Wenatchee 1914
Retake this viewRailway Age Great Northern Line from Oroville to Wenatchee 1914, 1914

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Oroville

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
1975
Smith, Hiram F., Orchard
Smith, Hiram F., Orchard
Sites
All 1 listings
Smith, Hiram F., OrchardSite · listed 1975

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

People over time

Oroville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001920194019601980200020201,795

Grew from 495 people in 1910 to 1,795 in 2020, 3 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Help out

Start Oroville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewRailway Age Great Northern Line from Or…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Oroville’s history

What year was Oroville founded?

In 1892, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Oroville’s post office opened in 1893, and the census of 1910 counted 495 people here.

How does Oroville rank for history?

Oroville is more historic than 62% 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 Oroville?

One place: the Smith, Hiram F., Orchard (listed 1975).

How old are the homes in Oroville?

20% of Oroville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (19), the Library of Congress (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.