Oroville’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 4 old photos of Oroville. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead 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
built from the dates on the items belowStart Oroville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oroville’s history is told.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewRailway Age Great Northern Line f…, 1914: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Oroville
See all 1 →Oroville, decade by decade
1950s
1990s
CommonsOroville, WA - Oroville Pharmacy2006
CommonsOroville, WA - Old Hotel Radbourn2006
CommonsOroville, WA - Old Garage2006
CommonsOroville, WA - Old Bank Building2006
CommonsOroville, WA - Odd Fellows Hall2006
CommonsOroville, WA - Main Street business2006
CommonsOroville, WA - Covert Building2006
CommonsMain Street20061 historic place in Oroville
1 place in Oroville is on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Railway Age Great Northern Line from Oroville to Wenatchee 1914 (1914) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (12). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.