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History · Silverado

Silverado’s post office opened in 1878, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1949 on.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Musant · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Silverado began

When was Silverado founded?

1878

The Silverado post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 932148 years
Founding year: the first Silverado post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Silverado’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 Silverado are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Silverado’s homes were built before 1940.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Silverado’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Silverado came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Silverado.

Read it all →

Silverado was founded in 1878. The area was mined for silver during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Remnants of mining operations such as the Blue Light Mine are still scattered in the area. Timber was harvested for use by the railroad. Coal was mined at the time in Carbondale. Ancient sea life fossils can be found within the sandstone cliffs in the area. During Spanish rule, the canyon was visited by Spanish explorers and was known by the name Cañada de la Madera (Timber Canyon). The town in Spain by that name bears a remarkable resemblance to Silverado. (The name Silverado is a type of Spanglish indicating a place where silver is found; a parallel formation to El Dorado.) The area enjoyed a renaissance in popularity in the 1940s as a hot springs vacation retreat, during which time hotels and restaurants prospered. Many weekend cabins were also built at that time. Home to a n…

ChaptersMarker

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Silverado, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Silverado2017Silverado
On the map

Silverado on the map, 1949 to 1981

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

Silverado on the 1949 USGS mapSilverado on the 1950 USGS mapSilverado on the 1974 USGS mapSilverado on the 1981 USGS map1949El Toro 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 Silverado.

Famous people

Famous people close to Silverado

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

See all →
Michelle PfeifferAmerican actress · b. 1958
Mike PompeoAmerican politician, United States Secretary of… · b. 1963
W
Will FerrellAmerican actor, comedian, screenwriter and prod… · b. 1967
Michael B. JordanAmerican actor · b. 1987
Ashley BensonAmerican actress · b. 1989
A
Austin ButlerAmerican actor · b. 1991

Questions about Silverado’s history

What year was Silverado founded?

The Silverado post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.