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History · Arapahoe

Arapahoe’s post office opened in 1860, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1892 on.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Arapahoe’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Arapahoe began

When was Arapahoe founded?

1860

The Arapahoe post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 102166 years
Founding year: the first Arapahoe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Arapahoe’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Arapahoe’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Arapahoe’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewTitan One Missile Complex 2A, 0.3 miles…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Arapahoe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arapahoe.

Read it all →

Arapahoe was established in 1870. The Arapahoe, Colorado, post office opened on May 5, 1906. The Arapahoe post office has the ZIP code 80802. The town name honors the Arapaho Native American people who lived in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Arapahoe, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Titan One Missile Complex 2A, 0.3 miles west of 129 Road and 1.5 miles north of County Line Road, Aurora, Adams County,…Date?Titan One Missile Complex 2A, 0.3 miles west of 129 R…
Today1 recent
Arapahoe from 402024Arapahoe from 40
On the map

Arapahoe on the map, 1892 to 1982

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

Arapahoe on the 1892 USGS mapArapahoe on the 1982 USGS map1892Cheyenne Wells sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Arapahoe.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Titan One Missile Complex 2A, 0.3 miles west of 129 Road and 1.5 miles north of County Line Road, Aurora, Adams County,…
Retake this viewTitan One Missile Complex 2A, 0.3 miles west of 129 Road and 1.5 miles north of County Line Road, Aurora, Adams County,…

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Arapahoe’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Arapahoe

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

See all →
Robert P. KerrFilm director, Actor, Screenwriter · b. 1892
Lola SpradleyAmerican politician · b. 1946
N
Nellie M. PayneAmerican entomologist and agricultural chemist · b. 1900

Questions about Arapahoe’s history

What year was Arapahoe founded?

The Arapahoe post office opened in 1860, 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 →
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (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.