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BHistory
History · Aurora

Aurora dates to 1870, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #98 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Lewis Shaw Coleman House. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1890.

1870founded
1on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Aurora’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Aurora began

When was Aurora founded?

1870

Aurora dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 3,482 in 18902020 census: 7,219156 years

How historic is Aurora?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1871.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 58% of U.S. towns, #98 of 247 in Missouri. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aurora’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194017.6% of homes (±5.8) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 4.1 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 61%

Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Aurora’s 4.1 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). Two sources give 1870.

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 Aurora’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1900 and 1920, then more than doubled.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1907–1919.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1914, drew every building in Aurora.
★ What stands out · People over time

Aurora, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00019001920194019601980200020206,191 in 1900Low: 3,575

Lost a third of its people between 1900 and 1920, then more than doubled.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

By decade

Aurora, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s18 items
Aurora, Mo., from the west1907Aurora, Mo., from the westBasil Roberts and James Hopper, both 12 years old, go to school when in session and work at Coleman Bros. Zinc Mine, Au…1910Basil Roberts and James Hopper, both 12 years old, go…A Boy (may be over 14) at Heavy Work. Shoveling Ore at Daisy Bell Mine1910A Boy (may be over 14) at Heavy Work. Shoveling Ore a…Three Boys Shoveling Zinc Ore from Car Into Wagon, Near Big Bonanza Mine1910Three Boys Shoveling Zinc Ore from Car Into Wagon, Ne…Basil Roberts and James Hopper, both 12 years old, go to school when in session and work at Coleman Bros. Zinc Mine1910Basil Roberts and James Hopper, both 12 years old, go…Basil Roberts and James Hopper, both 12 years old, go to school when in session and work at Coleman Bros. Zinc Mine1910Basil Roberts and James Hopper, both 12 years old, go…Scoville Tabernacle, Aurora, Mo1915Scoville Tabernacle, Aurora, MoScoville Tabernacle, Aurora, Mo1915Scoville Tabernacle, Aurora, Mo"The Menace Family" April 15, 19151915"The Menace Family" April 15, 1915Home of The Menace1915Home of The MenaceThe Menace composing and make-up room1915The Menace composing and make-up roomThe Menace linotype battery1915The Menace linotype batteryA section of The Menace subscription list1915A section of The Menace subscription listSeveral views, Menace editorial staff1915Several views, Menace editorial staffThe Menace Force ready to join patriotic parade at Aurora, Mo1917The Menace Force ready to join patriotic parade at Au…City Hall1919City HallCity Hall1919City HallPatriotic convention1919Patriotic convention
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
MNA 40812021MNA 4081Lewis Shaw Coleman house in2017Lewis Shaw Coleman house inAuroraCarnegieLibrary2012AuroraCarnegieLibrary
Every building

Aurora, building by building, 1892–1914

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.

Aurora fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Aurora came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Aurora.

Read it all →

The Honey Creek area, near Aurora, was originally settled by pioneers from Tennessee, including James D. Hillhouse, E. B. Hillhouse, Reverend A. A. Young, James Barrow and James Gibson. They were later instrumental in founding Aurora. Their descendants include actor Brad Pitt and novelist and national security analyst Raelynn Hillhouse.

Aurora was platted in 1870 by Stephen G. Elliott. It was reportedly named after Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Aurora, 1870 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingAurora is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Aurora post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Lowele post office opens
  5. 1889Post officeThe Lowele post office closes
  6. 1893Born hereLefty Williams is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1907In the archiveAurora, Mo., from the west
  9. 1908Born hereHal Hilpirt is born here
  10. 1910In the archiveBasil Roberts and James Hopper, both 12 years old, go to school when in session and work …
  11. 1942Born hereDon S. Davis is born here
  12. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1973Born hereJack Goodman is born here
  14. 21st century
  15. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 7,508
On the map

Aurora on the map, 1942 to 1974

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

Aurora on the 1942 USGS mapAurora on the 1974 USGS map1942Aurora 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 Aurora.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Aurora, Mo., from the west
Retake this viewAurora, Mo., from the west, 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Aurora’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Aurora

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2016
Lewis Shaw Coleman House
Lewis Shaw Coleman House
Buildings
Lewis Shaw Coleman HouseBuilding

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Aurora

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Don S. DavisAmerican character actor · b. 1942
J
Jack GoodmanAmerican politician · b. 1973
Lefty WilliamsMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1893
Hal HilpirtPlayer of American football · b. 1908
Harold L. TurnerUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1898
K
Kristin KeyAmerican comedian · b. 1980
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Aurora’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Lowele, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Aurora
1871–today
Lowele
1886–1889
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Liberty SchoolschoolLowell Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Aurora
Maple ParkMount Calvary

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

Help out

Finish Aurora’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAurora, Mo., from the west: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Aurora’s history

What year was Aurora founded?

In 1870, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Aurora’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1890 counted 3,482 people here.

How does Aurora rank for history?

Aurora is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #98 of 247 in Missouri. 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 Aurora?

One place: the Lewis Shaw Coleman House (listed 2016).

How old are the homes in Aurora?

18% of Aurora’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1973.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (14), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.