The story
Read it all →How Aurora came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Aurora.
Aurora was laid out in 1898. A post office has been in operation at Aurora since 1903. The city was incorporated in 1903.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C+History
History · Aurora
Aurora’s post office opened in 1903, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1903first post office
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Quick answers
How Aurora began
When was Aurora founded?
1903
The Aurora post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 1,678123 years
How historic is Aurora?
C+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Aurora post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Aurora’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aurora is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aurora’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194035.0% of homes (±10.2) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Aurora’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±10.2 points). 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 Aurora’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Aurora’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Aurora’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Aurora, 1911 to 1962
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Aurora, decade by decade
2026
2026
2026
2012
2012
2012Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in Aurora
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Aurora’s history
What year was Aurora founded?
The Aurora post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Aurora rank for history?
Aurora is more historic than 36% 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.
How old are the homes in Aurora?
35% of Aurora’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1954.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.