Moscow dates to 1871, and 22 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #12 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
Most of Moscow was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 22 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 237 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Moscow’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moscow is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #12 of 59 in Idaho. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moscow’s overall grade.
Idaho towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Idaho town has 8.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Moscow’s 98.5 sits above most of its state (96% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 259 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1871.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Moscow’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Moscow, building by building, 1888–1909
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 year, then a sheet.
Miners and farmers began arriving in the northern Idaho area after the Civil War. The first permanent settlers came to the Moscow area in 1871. The abundance of camas bulbs, a favorite fodder of pigs brought by the farmers, led to naming the vicinity "Hog Heaven". When the first US post office opened in 1872, the town was called "Paradise Valley", but the name changed to "Moscow" in 1875. The name Paradise persists in the main waterway through town, Paradise Creek, which originates at the west end of the Palouse Range, flows south to the Troy Highway, and west to Pullman where it enters the South Fork of the Palouse River.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1871, according to Wikidata. Moscow’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1880 counted 76 people here.
How does Moscow rank for history?
Moscow is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #12 of 59 in Idaho. 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 Moscow?
22 listings: 20 buildings, among them the Moscow Post Office and Courthouse (listed 1973, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Moscow Downtown Historic District and the Fort Russell Neighborhood Historic District, with 237 contributing buildings. 259 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Moscow?
9% of Moscow’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (22), 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.
c. 1910
1911
1911
1911