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C−History
History · Moorcroft

Moorcroft’s post office opened in 1889

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Moorcroft was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1910.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ruhrfisch · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Moorcroft began

When was Moorcroft founded?

1889

The Moorcroft post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 178 in 19102020 census: 946137 years

How historic is Moorcroft?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Moorcroft’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moorcroft is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moorcroft’s overall grade.
Founding era1889, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.4% of homes (±7.6) · typical WY town 12.0% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WY town 25.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder

Wyoming towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wyoming town has 25.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Moorcroft’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Wyoming 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 D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 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 Moorcroft’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 Moorcroft are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19183 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1984. Watch Moorcroft change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moorcroft’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Moorcroft’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
On the map

Moorcroft on the map, 1918 to 1984

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

Moorcroft on the 1918 USGS mapMoorcroft on the 1957 USGS mapMoorcroft on the 1984 USGS map1918Moorcroft 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 Moorcroft.

The story

How Moorcroft came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Moorcroft.

Read it all →

Moorcroft was incorporated on October 2, 1906. The exact meaning of Moorcroft is unknown but over the years has several suggested origins for the name. The town was named in 1876 after Alexander Moorcroft, an early settler from Northern England who built a cabin in the Black Hills of Wyoming. The name Moorcroft was chosen by the community’s first postman Stocks Millar (1858-1890) after his home town in Scotland.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Moorcroft, decade by decade

Today16 recent
The sign for the Moorcroft Motel2015The sign for the Moorcroft MotelRetired Maryland contractor Rule Irwin takes a break on his hike across America outside a cottage at the Wyoming Motel2015Retired Maryland contractor Rule Irwin takes a break …Retired Maryland contractor Rule Irwin takes a break on his hike across America outside the Wyoming Motel2015Retired Maryland contractor Rule Irwin takes a break …Longhorn cow art2015Longhorn cow artSign for the Wyoming Motel2015Sign for the Wyoming MotelThe sign for the Moorcroft Motel in Moorcroft, Wyoming, borrows part of its look from Devils Tower, one of the state's …2015The sign for the Moorcroft Motel in Moorcroft, Wyomin…The front of a junk store whose garage displays a patriotic motif in Moorcroft, Wyoming, says "open," but there can be …2015The front of a junk store whose garage displays a pat…The Peoples Bank of Moorcroft, Wyoming, completed this building in 1919, but the bank itself stayed in business less th…2015The Peoples Bank of Moorcroft, Wyoming, completed thi…The Little Shop, a gift, craft, and quilting shop in2015The Little Shop, a gift, craft, and quilting shop inSign for the Wyoming Motel in2015Sign for the Wyoming Motel inSign for the Wyoming Motel in2015Sign for the Wyoming Motel inRetired Maryland contractor Rule Irwin takes a break on his hike across America outside the Wyoming Motel in2015Retired Maryland contractor Rule Irwin takes a break …Retired Maryland contractor Rule Irwin takes a break on his hike across America outside a cottage at the Wyoming Motel …2015Retired Maryland contractor Rule Irwin takes a break …Longhorn cow art in2015Longhorn cow art inA stunningly red barn in Crook County, north of2015A stunningly red barn in Crook County, north ofA six-foot-tall woodcarving by Russ Eichenberger at the West Texas Trail Museum in Moorcroft, Wyoming, where herds of T…2015A six-foot-tall woodcarving by Russ Eichenberger at t…
Every building

Moorcroft, building by building, 1927

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 sheet.

Moorcroft fire insurance map, 1927, sheet 11927Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Moorcroft, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,014

Between 178 and 1,014 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Moorcroft

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

See all →
E
Eric BarlowAmerican politician · b. 1966
M
Mary ThroneAmerican politician · b. 1960
Bob HarrisAmerican baseball player · b. 1915
J
John ChickFootballer, Player of American and Canadian foo… · b. 1982
S
Sue WallisAmerican politician and rancher · b. 1957
W
William PownallAmerican politician

Questions about Moorcroft’s history

What year was Moorcroft founded?

The Moorcroft post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Moorcroft rank for history?

Moorcroft is more historic than 23% 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.

How old are the homes in Moorcroft?

7% of Moorcroft’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wyoming town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 (11), the Library of Congress (5), Wikipedia, 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.