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History · Moravia

Moravia dates to 1850, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Wabash Combination Depot-Moravia. Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1860.

1850founded
1on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Moravia began

When was Moravia founded?

1850

Moravia dates its founding to 1850 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 172 in 18602020 census: 637176 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓

What stands out about Moravia’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 Moravia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Moravia’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moravia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Moravia’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 Moravia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Moravia.

Read it all →

Moravia is named for the religious faith. Moravian families left Salem, North Carolina, in 1849 to start a colony in the west. Money was sent to purchase forty acres of land for a town site by several benevolent Moravian sisters. It was their wish that town lots be sold and the money be used to build a Moravian Church. The families made the long journey to Iowa and acquired many acres of land.

The town site of Moravia was laid out on June 27, 1850 and was recorded July 15, 1851. The surveying was done using a pocket compass and tapeline for measuring instruments. The old ridge road from Unionville, Iowa, to Moravia and west to Iconium, Iowa, supplied part of the Mormon Trail of 1846 from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Moravia, 1850 to 1939

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850
    FoundingMoravia is established
  3. 1851Post officeThe Moravia post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Moravia, decade by decade

Today5 recent
MoraviaIowaTrainDepot2021MoraviaIowaTrainDepotA P N C Railroad 20152015A P N C Railroad 2015Moravia, Iowa2013Moravia, IowaFEMA - 44945 - Sand bag levee in Iowa with waiting for Preliminary Damage Assessment2010FEMA - 44945 - Sand bag levee in Iowa with waiting fo…IAMap-doton-Moravia2004IAMap-doton-Moravia
On the map

Moravia on the map, 1939 to 1982

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

Moravia on the 1939 USGS mapMoravia on the 1942 USGS mapMoravia on the 1982 USGS map1939Mystic 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 Moravia.

Every building

Moravia, building by building, 1913

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.

Moravia fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Moravia

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
1996
Wabash Combination Depot-Moravia
Wabash Combination Depot-Moravia
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Stick1
Eastlake1
Queen Anne1
Wabash Combination Depot-MoraviaLate Victorian

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

People over time

Moravia, census by census

0200400600800190019502000Peak: 837

Between 161 and 837 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Moravia

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

See all →
Tom ArnoldAmerican stand-up comedian and actor · b. 1959
Adam YoungAmerican musician and singer-songwriter · b. 1986
Karen MorleyAmerican film actress · b. 1909
Beverley OwenAmerican actress · b. 1937
J
Jacob SchickAmerican businessman · b. 1877
Thomas E. MartinAmerican politician · b. 1893

Questions about Moravia’s history

What year was Moravia founded?

In 1850, according to Wikidata. Moravia’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1860 counted 172 people here.

What is on the National Register in Moravia?

One place: the Wabash Combination Depot-Moravia (listed 1996).

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.