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History · Moscow

Moscow’s post office opened in 1888, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1930.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Pmsyyz · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Moscow began

When was Moscow founded?

1888

The Moscow post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Valparaiso (1886), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 249 in 19302020 census: 272138 years
Founding year: the first Moscow post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Moscow’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 Moscow are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moscow’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Moscow came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Moscow.

Read it all →

One tradition says, the community was named for a member of de Soto's expedition, the maestro de campo (field commander) Luis de Moscoso (the source mistakenly indicates Francisco Coronado southwest expedition, but at this time Moscoso was a member of de Soto's expedition, furthermore he took command of the expedition after de Soto's death). During the settlement name registration there were a series of mistakes. The residents, in their application for a post office, had shortened it to Mosco. A postal clerk in Washington, upon receipt of their petition, being in a helpful spirit, and thinking the hay-seeds in the west did not know their spelling, added a "w" to the name, changing it to Moscow.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Moscow, 1886 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Valparaiso post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Valparaiso post office closes
  4. 1888Post officeThe Moscow post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Moscow, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Moscow, Kansas, 20072007Moscow, Kansas, 2007Moscow High School2005Moscow High School
On the map

Moscow on the map, 1944 to 1974

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

Moscow on the 1944 USGS mapMoscow on the 1974 USGS map1944Moscow 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 Moscow.

People over time

Moscow, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020Peak: 310

Between 177 and 310 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Moscow

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

See all →
B
Billy DragoAmerican actor · b. 1946
Otto SchnellbacherAmerican football and basketball player · b. 1923
Sandra GilesAmerican actress · b. 1932
G
Galen FissAmerican football player · b. 1931
Gary SpaniAmerican football player · b. 1956
Janice PaulsAmerican politician · b. 1952
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Moscow’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Valparaiso, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Valparaiso
1886–1888
Moscow
1888–today
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Moscow’s history

What year was Moscow founded?

The Moscow post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (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.