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History · Wishram

Wishram’s post office opened in 1926, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1977 on and the census since 2000.

1926first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Williamborg · Public domain
Quick answers

How Wishram began

When was Wishram founded?

1926

The Wishram post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 213 in 20002020 census: 366100 years
Founding year: the first Wishram post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Wishram’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 Wishram are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Wishram’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wishram’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wishram’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
The story

How Wishram came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wishram.

Read it all →

The area of Wishram was located 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km) above the head of the great Celilo Falls on the Columbia, and as a result has been populated for an extended period. For around 15,000 years, native peoples gathered to fish and exchange goods. They built wooden platforms out over the water and caught salmon with dipnets and long spears on poles as the fish swam up through the rapids and jumped over the falls. Celilo Falls and The Dalles were strategically located at the border between Chinookan and Sahaptian-speaking peoples and served as the center of an extensive trading network across the Pacific Plateau. It was noted by early explorers and historians of the area.

ChaptersLewis and ClarkEarly historyWishram/Fallbridge as a rail center

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Wishram, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Wishram from above-July 20112011Wishram from above-July 2011Wishram Monument-July 20112011Wishram Monument-July 2011Deschutes to left - scablands erosion directly ahead2011Deschutes to left - scablands erosion directly aheadBNSF GE Dash-9 at2011BNSF GE Dash-9 atLocomotive Great Northern 2507 preserved at Wishram station in 20062006Locomotive Great Northern 2507 preserved at Wishram s…Wishram2003Wishram
On the map

Wishram on the map, 1977 to 1994

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

Wishram on the 1977 USGS mapWishram on the 1980 USGS mapWishram on the 1994 USGS map1977Wishram sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wishram.

People over time

Wishram, census by census

010020030040020002020Peak: 366

Between 213 and 366 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Wishram

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

See all →
Vic WildAmerican-born Russian snowboarder · b. 1986
Greg WaldenAmerican politician · b. 1957
Cecil D. AndrusAmerican politician · b. 1931
V
Virginia AdmiralAmerican painter and poet · b. 1915
Clifton N. McArthurAmerican politician · b. 1879
Colston LovelandAmerican football player · b. 2004
Places that used to be

Old corners

Wishram’s post office has been open since 1926.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Wishram Heights

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

Questions about Wishram’s history

What year was Wishram founded?

The Wishram post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.