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History · McKay

McKay’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of McKay. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

McKay is an unincorporated community in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Its name accompanies McKay Creek, which is named for Dr. William Cameron McKay, located in Umatilla County at North McKay Creek Road (County 1050 Rd.) on Ross Road. As of the 2020 census, McKay had a population of 95. It has been the site of discovery of ancient bird fossils.

Half of its homes were built before 1981.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of McKay yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start McKay’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from McKayWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in McKay.Meet them →
By decade

McKay, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in McKay is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean McKay has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Meacham Hotel in Meacham, 12.8 miles away.

McKay and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = McKay. Tap a dot.
Meacham HotelBowman HotelMatlock-Brownfield BuildingSouth Main Street Commercial Historic DistrictJoseph Vey HouseMasonic Temple

Closest to McKay

Meacham HotelMeacham · Late Victorian12.8miBowman HotelPendleton · Building13.2miMatlock-Brownfield BuildingPendleton · Built 190413.2miSouth Main Street Commercial Historic DistrictPendleton · District13.2miJoseph Vey HousePendleton · Built 191313.2mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Meacham Hotel’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in McKay?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to McKay’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Pilot Rock📜 Pendleton📜 Adams📜 Athena
The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in McKay, ORView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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