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C−History
History · Moraine

Moraine dates to 1957, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #895 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

Most of Moraine was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1960.

1957founded
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Moraine’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Moraine began

When was Moraine founded?

1957

Moraine dates its founding to 1957 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 2,262 in 19602020 census: 6,39369 years

How historic is Moraine?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Moraine’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moraine is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #895 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moraine’s overall grade.
Founding era1957, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19406.0% of homes (±1.8) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 3.1 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 10%

Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Moraine’s 3.1 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1957.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size.

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 Moraine’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Moraine, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Wright Flyer III, a National Historic Landmark.On the map since 19135 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1981. Watch Moraine change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moraine’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Moraine’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAirplanes - Parts - Aeroplane manufactu…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Ellerton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Cains Mobile Home ParkCircle Z Mobile Home ParkEllertonGem City EstatesHide A Way Mobile Home ParkLamme-Moraine Mobile Home ParkMiami Shores
Gone or out of use
Ellerton Post Officepost officeSchool Number 10school
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Moraine
CalvaryEllertonMoyerWest Memory GardensZion

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Moraine

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Wright Flyer III
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Wright Flyer III
Salem Bear Creek Church, Salem Evangelical Lutheran ChurchWright Flyer III★
BuildingsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Wright Flyer1
★ Landmark
Wright Flyer IIIWright Flyer
Salem Bear Creek Church, Salem Evangelical Lutheran ChurchBuilding

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

The story

How Moraine came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Moraine.

Read it all →

What is now the city of Moraine was once a part of Van Buren Township followed by a brief period as a part of Kettering. Much of Kettering's portion seceded in 1953 and formed the new Moraine Township. The township incorporated as a village in 1957. After annexing portions of Miami Township, Moraine incorporated as a city in 1965. Moraine later annexed parts of Jefferson Township.

Howard Johnson, the operator of the Moraine Airpark, was mayor of the city from 1976 to 1993.

ChaptersManufacturing

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Moraine, 1879 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Ellerton post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Post officeThe Ellerton post office closes
  5. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1917In the archiveAirplanes - Parts - Aeroplane manufacture. Final operation on De Haviland Fuselage before…
  7. 1957
    FoundingMoraine is established
  8. 1990LandmarkWright Flyer III named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Moraine, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Airplanes - Parts - Aeroplane manufacture. Final operation on De Haviland Fuselage before attaching wings. The Dayton W…1917Airplanes - Parts - Aeroplane manufacture. Final oper…
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
Today1 recent
Tait Station, a combustion turbine and diesel-generator facility2016Tait Station, a combustion turbine and diesel-generat…
On the map

Moraine on the map, 1913 to 1981

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

Moraine on the 1913 USGS mapMoraine on the 1955 USGS mapMoraine on the 1966 USGS mapMoraine on the 1974 USGS mapMoraine on the 1981 USGS map1913Waynesville 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 Moraine.

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.

Airplanes - Parts - Aeroplane manufacture. Final operation on De Haviland Fuselage before attaching wings. The Dayton W…
Retake this viewAirplanes - Parts - Aeroplane manufacture. Final operation on De Haviland Fuselage before attaching wings. The Dayton W…, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Moraine, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,5001960198020002020Peak: 6,897

Between 2,262 and 6,897 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Moraine

Nobody well known was born in Moraine itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jonathan WintersAmerican comedian, actor, artist · b. 1925
M
Martin SheenAmerican actor · b. 1940
Natalie Clifford BarneyAmerican writer who hosted a literary salon at … · b. 1876
Timothy SnyderAmerican historian · b. 1969
Nancy CartwrightAmerican actress · b. 1957
Edwin MosesAmerican track and field athlete · b. 1955
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Jefferson TownshipIts storyC+Dayton111 historic placesA+Kettering4 historic placesC−Miami Township5 historic placesB+West CarrolltonIts storyC

Questions about Moraine’s history

What year was Moraine founded?

In 1957, according to Wikidata. Moraine’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1960 counted 2,262 people here.

How does Moraine rank for history?

Moraine is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #895 of 993 in Ohio. 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 Moraine?

Two places: the Wright Flyer III (listed 1990) and the Salem Bear Creek Church, Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church (1990).

How old are the homes in Moraine?

6% of Moraine’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (1), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.