Most of Moore Haven was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 47 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1920.
Founding year: the first Moore Haven post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Moore Haven’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moore Haven is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. 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 Moore Haven’s overall grade.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Moore Haven’s 221 sits above most of its state (97% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 47 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Moore Haven’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The City of Moore Haven was named after its founder, James A. Moore (1861-1929), a man originally from Seattle, that immediately began platting the community upon his arrival in 1915. Two years later, in 1917, the rapidly growing community was officially incorporated as a municipality. In its early days, Moore Haven was often called "Little Chicago", reflecting the city's status as a significant boom town, as well as it originally being located where Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee River Canal meet, a lot like how the mouth of the Chicago River intersects into the southern part of Lake Michigan in Chicago.
Moore Haven’s post office has been open since 1916.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Moore Haven Trailer Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Moore Haven’s history
What year was Moore Haven founded?
The Moore Haven post office opened in 1916, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Moore Haven rank for history?
Moore Haven is more historic than 28% 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 Moore Haven?
Two places: the Moore Haven Downtown Historic District (listed 1995) and the Moore Haven Residential Historic District (1998).
How old are the homes in Moore Haven?
0.2% of Moore Haven’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
