The story
Read it all →How Altona came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Altona.
The Altona, Colorado, post office operated from October 2, 1879, until July 15, 1916.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Altona
Altona’s post office opened in 1879
Most of Altona was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1902 on.
1879first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Altona began
When was Altona founded?
1879
The Altona post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 512147 years
Founding year: the first Altona post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Altona’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Altona’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Altona’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Altona on the map, 1902 to 1978
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Altona. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Boulder sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Altona.
Timeline
Altona, 1879 to 1916
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1879Post officeThe Altona post office opens
- 20th century
- 1902
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1916Post officeThe Altona post office closes
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Altona
Nobody well known was born in Altona itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
K
Kristin DavisAmerican actress · b. 1965
J
John Carroll LynchAmerican character actor and film director · b. 1963
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and places now gone
Altona had its own post office from 1879 to 1916.
Altona
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Lefthand Fire Protection District Central StationbuildingLefthand Fire Protection District Station 3building
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Altona’s history
What year was Altona founded?
The Altona post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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.