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C+History
History · Moriarty

Moriarty’s post office opened in 1902, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Moriarty Eclipse Windmill and the Evans, Greene, Garage. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1960.

1902first post office
2on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Moriarty began

When was Moriarty founded?

1902

The Moriarty post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 720 in 19602020 census: 1,946124 years

How historic is Moriarty?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Moriarty post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Moriarty’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moriarty is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moriarty’s overall grade.
Founding era1902, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194011.5% of homes (±13.9) · typical NM town 2.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 9.5 per 10,000 residents · typical NM town 2.2 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder

New Mexico towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical New Mexico town has 2.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Moriarty’s 9.5 sits above most of its state (72% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±13.9 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 Moriarty’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 Moriarty are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moriarty’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Moriarty’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

Moriarty, in brief

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

Moriarty is a city in Torrance County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,946 at the 2020 census. It is located about ten miles east of Edgewood, and shares a school district with the town, despite them being in separate counties (Edgewood is in Santa Fe County).

Its first post office opened in 1902. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,910 in 2010, 1,946 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Moriarty, 1890 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890BuiltMoriarty Eclipse Windmill is built
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe Moriarty post office opens
  5. 1941Born hereToney Anaya is born here
  6. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Moriarty, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Lisa's Truck Center2021Lisa's Truck CenterMoriartyEclipseWindmill2017MoriartyEclipseWindmillMoriarty New Mexico Aerial2017Moriarty New Mexico AerialFreightlioner42007Freightlioner4Freightlioner32007Freightlioner3NMMap-doton-Moriarty2004NMMap-doton-Moriarty
On the map

Moriarty on the map, 1956 to 1986

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

Moriarty on the 1956 USGS mapMoriarty on the 1986 USGS map1956Estancia 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 Moriarty.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Moriarty

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Moriarty Eclipse Windmill
Moriarty Eclipse Windmill, built 1890Evans, Greene, Garage
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Southwest Vernacular1
Moriarty Eclipse WindmillBuilt 1890
Evans, Greene, GarageSouthwest Vernacular

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

People over time

Moriarty, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00019601980200020201,946

Grew from 720 people in 1960 to 1,946 in 2020.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Questions about Moriarty’s history

What year was Moriarty founded?

The Moriarty post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Moriarty rank for history?

Moriarty is more historic than 38% 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.

What is on the National Register in Moriarty?

Two places: the Moriarty Eclipse Windmill (listed 1979) and the Evans, Greene, Garage (1993).

How old are the homes in Moriarty?

12% of Moriarty’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.9 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.