The Moira post office opened in 1807, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Brush's Mills (1849) and Alburg (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 791 in 18302020 census: 2,916219 years
How historic is Moira?
B+
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Moira post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Moira’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moira is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #536 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moira’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Moira’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York 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 C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.3 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 Moira’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Moira’s post office has been open since 1807. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Moira
1807–today
Brush's Mills
1849–1877
Alburg
1875–1906
Brushton
1877–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AlburgBrushton
Gone or out of use
School Number 10schoolSchool Number 11schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 8schoolSchool Number 9schoolUrsone Airportairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Moira
Moira CommunitySaint MarysSaint PetersSunnyside
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Moira on the map, 1915 to 1964
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Moira. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1915Moira 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 Moira.
Settlement began circa 1803. The town was formed in 1828 from the town of Dickinson. The Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad was founded in 1849 as the Northern Railroad, running from Ogdensburg through Moira to Rouses Point. In 1883, the Northern Adirondack Railroad was built from Moira south to St. Regis Falls, a major lumbering area. In 1885, the railroad was extended southwards to Santa Clara, and by 1890 it was extended further south, eventually reaching Tupper Lake.
The Moira post office opened in 1807, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Moira rank for history?
Moira is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #536 of 758 in New York. 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 Moira?
36% of Moira’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 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.
