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–Not graded
History · Ora Township

50% of Ora Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on.

0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Ora Township’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 Ora Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Ora Township’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ora Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ora Township’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
The story so far

Ora Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ora Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 69 to 44 (-36%).

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.
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On the map

Ora Township on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Ora Township on the 1967 USGS mapOra Township on the 1985 USGS map1967Aneta 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 Ora Township.

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ora Township
Norway LutheranSacred HeartSilent HillSundahl

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Sharon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLee TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLoretta TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRugh TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAnetaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ora Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.