Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Luray

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Luray

Luray dates to 1837, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.

1837founded
0on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Luray began

When was Luray founded?

1837

Luray dates its founding to 1837 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 217 in 18802020 census: 73189 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1841.The full story ↓

What stands out about Luray’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 Luray are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1837: 189 years of Luray.Old housesHalf of Luray’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Luray’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Luray’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
Timeline

Luray, 1837 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837
    FoundingLuray is established
  3. 1841Post officeThe Luray post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Born hereRoy Hutson is born here
  6. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Luray came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Luray.

Read it all →

Luray was platted in 1837. The source of the name Luray is obscure; according to the State Historical Society of Missouri, most likely it is Native American in origin. A post office called Luray has been in operation since 1841. After 170 years in operation, the Luray office closed on November 4, 2011.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Luray on the map in 1951

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Luray.

Luray on the 1951 USGS map1951Wyaconda sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Luray.

People over time

Luray, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 246

Between 70 and 246 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Luray’s history

What year was Luray founded?

In 1837, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Luray’s post office opened in 1841, and the census of 1880 counted 217 people here.

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 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) 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.