Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Moro

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 · Moro

Moro’s post office opened in 1884, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1900.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Moro began, and where its name came from

When was Moro founded?

1884

The Moro post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1899.

First census: 335 in 19002020 census: 367142 years

How did Moro get its name?

Moro was named for Moro, Illinois.

Founding year: the first Moro post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1899. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about Moro’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 Moro are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Moro’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moro’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Moro’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

Moro, in brief

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

Moro is a city in Sherman County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 census, Moro had a population of 367. It is the county seat of Sherman County. It’s currently the least-populous county seat in Oregon. Moro was incorporated on February 17, 1899, by the Oregon Legislative Assembly. It was named for Moro, Illinois.

Its first post office opened in 1884. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 324 to 367 (+13%).

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

Timeline

Moro, 1884 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Moro post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1917Born hereGinny Wood is born here
  5. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Moro, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Downtown, Moro - DPLA - ede6329db7fbe9c6e3f9143d9621b6ea2016Downtown, Moro - DPLA - ede6329db7fbe9c6e3f9143d9621b…Downtown, Moro - DPLA - aeaba89ec5d7814966f9c3c63dca90232016Downtown, Moro - DPLA - aeaba89ec5d7814966f9c3c63dca9…Downtown, Moro - DPLA - 0599f736126ab741f0600f004e4bd9472016Downtown, Moro - DPLA - 0599f736126ab741f0600f004e4bd…ORMap-doton-Moro2004ORMap-doton-Moro
On the map

Moro on the map, 1971 to 1981

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

Moro on the 1971 USGS mapMoro on the 1981 USGS map1971Moro 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 Moro.

Every building

Moro, building by building, 1905–1910

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Moro fire insurance map, 1905, sheet 11905Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Moro, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 418

Between 290 and 418 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Questions about Moro’s history

What year was Moro founded?

The Moro post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1899.

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 Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.