The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Loretto was founded in 1886, and settled by German and Dutch immigrants. Its name comes from two sources: the Jesuit mission, Notre-Dame de la Jeune Lorette, on the east bank of the Saint Charles River, about eight miles northwest of Quebec City in Canada, known as Lorette, which served as a refuge for Huron Indian refugees, and the village of Loretto, Kentucky, where the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross were founded in 1812. The name's original inspiration stems from Loreto, a small town in Italy celebrated for its pilgrimage shrine.
The city was incorporated in 1940. The first mayor was Albert Van Beusekom.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start Loretto’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Loretto’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Loretto, decade by decade
2000
Nothing in Loretto is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Loretto has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is District No. 107 School in Corcoran, 4.8 miles away.
Loretto and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.