Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #77 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Applewood was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1939 on, and the census since 1970.
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Applewood is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #77 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Few Colorado towns list much on the Register (a typical Colorado town has 1.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Applewood’s 3.6 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: our sources. 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Applewood’s history is told.
Peaked at 12,040 in 1980; 7,833 people lived here in 2020.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Applewood’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Applewood.
In the 2000 U.S. census, the size of the CDP was reduced from its size in the 1990 U.S. census. West Pleasant View CDP was formed out of parts of Applewood CDP in 2000.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Applewood. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Applewood.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Nobody well known was born in Applewood itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Applewood is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #77 of 159 in Colorado. 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.
Three places: the Ammunition Igloo (listed 1993), the Colorado Amphitheater (1993) and the Hill Section, Golden Hill Cemetery (1995).
0.5% of Applewood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1970.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
