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C+History
History · Arvada

Arvada dates to 1859, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #54 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

Most of Arvada was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 199 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1910.

1859founded
6on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Arvada’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Arvada began

When was Arvada founded?

1859

Arvada dates its founding to 1859 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 840 in 19102020 census: 124,402167 years

How historic is Arvada?

C+

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Arvada’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arvada is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #54 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arvada’s overall grade.
Founding era1859, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.3% of homes (±0.4) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register6 listings, 201 historic buildings, 16.4 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 43%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 66%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Arvada ranks #257 on History.

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 Arvada’s 16.4 sits above most of its state (77% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 201 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Arvada’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1859.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). 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 →

What stands out about Arvada’s past

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

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Arvada, and 43 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe Reno Park Addition Historic District takes in 86 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersErika Sutton, Lindsay Brewer and 10 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Arvada’s post office has been open since 1871. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Golden City
1860–1876
Ralstons
1863–1870
Arvada
1871–today
Semper
1882–1900
Ralston
1887–1887
Simpson
1910–1943
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alkire EstatesAlta VistaCameo EstatesCandlelightClub CrestColumbine AcresCountry View EstatesCrestmont HeightsFar HorizonHackberry HillsHuntington HeightsKoldewayLake ArborLakecrestLakeview MeadowsLamar HeightsLamplighterLyndale ParkMaplewood AcresMeadow LakeMesa HeightsOak ParkOberon AcresParadise Acres
Gone or out of use
Allendale Cottage School Number 2schoolAlta Vista Cottage SchoolschoolArvada Seventh Day Adventist Christian SchoolschoolEast Arvada Junior High SchoolschoolFitzmorris Cottage SchoolschoolGolden PitmineHoskinson Cottage SchoolschoolLadwig Number Two MinemineLeyden Number One MinemineLeyden Number Three MinemineLeyden Number Two MinemineNorth Star MinemineRussell Cottage SchoolschoolRussell Elementary SchoolschoolSecrest Cottage School Number 1schoolSecrest Cottage School Number 2schoolState Clay MinemineSwanson Cottage School Number 1school
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Arvada
ArvadaRalston

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

6 listings protect 201 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
201
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Arvada Flour Mill
Arvada Flour MillRussell-Graves HouseArvada Downtown, built 1974Stocke-Walter Addition Historic DistrictReno Park Addition Historic DistrictChurches Ranch
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements4
Classic Cottage2
Bungalow2
Victorian1
Bungaloid1
Commercial Style1
Arvada Flour MillBuilding
Russell-Graves HouseVictorian
Arvada DowntownLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements · Built 1974
Stocke-Walter Addition Historic DistrictLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
Reno Park Addition Historic DistrictLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
All 6 listings
Churches RanchDistrict · listed 1998

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Arvada came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arvada.

Read it all →

The region arround Arvada has been inhabited by Native Americans and their Paleo-American ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly more than 37,000 years. Before 1858, the Arvada area was occupied by the Arapaho and Cheyenne people. The Ute and Comanche people would also occasionally visit the area. White American travelers would generally avoid the Southern Rocky Mountains and would usually travel along the Oregon Trail through what is now Wyoming.

ChaptersMissionary shooting

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arvada, 1859 to 1997

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859
    FoundingArvada is established
  3. 1860Post officeThe Golden City post office opens
  4. 1863Post officeThe Ralstons post office opens
  5. 1870Post officeThe Ralstons post office closes
  6. 1871Post officeThe Arvada post office opens
  7. 1876Post officeThe Golden City post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1917In the archiveThrough the leaves, 1917
  10. 1937In the archiveAIN 47-45 - DPLA - 85e57adc7a67c6b78c8a83e708f2e339
  11. 1940In the archiveColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
  12. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1974BuiltArvada Downtown is built
  14. 1975Born hereBrian Lee is born here
  15. 1987Born hereErika Sutton is born here
  16. 1990Born hereIsaac Cowles is born here
  17. 1997Born hereLindsay Brewer is born here
By decade

Arvada, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1940s6 items
Through the leaves, 19171917Through the leaves, 1917AIN 47-45 - DPLA - 85e57adc7a67c6b78c8a83e708f2e3391937AIN 47-45 - DPLA - 85e57adc7a67c6b78c8a83e708f2e339YF 33-19 - DPLA - 8b0dbc5abddea4746ecdc0c953ca803c1937YF 33-19 - DPLA - 8b0dbc5abddea4746ecdc0c953ca803cYF 33-21 - DPLA - d5410b8a4ca62de36b282ab9dc8f82151937YF 33-21 - DPLA - d5410b8a4ca62de36b282ab9dc8f8215Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Vista del Amtrak2008Vista del AmtrakMajesticViewPark, sign2008MajesticViewPark, signI-70EBI-76Begin2008I-70EBI-76BeginGreen Sunbeam Tiger 2 (reworked)2008Green Sunbeam Tiger 2 (reworked)1956 Canadian Pontiac Pathfinder Sedan Delivery20081956 Canadian Pontiac Pathfinder Sedan Delivery
On the map

Arvada on the map, 1941 to 1994

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

Arvada on the 1941 USGS mapArvada on the 1950 USGS mapArvada on the 1965 USGS mapArvada on the 1971 USGS mapArvada on the 1980 USGS mapArvada on the 1994 USGS map1941Arvada sheet · 1:31,680

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

Every building

Arvada, building by building, 1917–1922

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Arvada fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Through the leaves, 1917
Retake this viewThrough the leaves, 1917, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Arvada, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000192019401960198020002020124,402

Grew from 840 people in 1910 to 124,402 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Arvada’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Arvada

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
E
Erika SuttonAmerican soccer player · b. 1987
Lindsay BrewerAmerican racing driver · b. 1997
B
Brian LeeAll-American football player, defensive back · b. 1975
I
Isaac CowlesAmerican soccer player · b. 1990
Joel KlattCollege football analyst · b. 1982
A
Alice Van-SpringsteenAmerican stuntwoman, jockey · b. 1918
Help out

Finish Arvada’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThrough the leaves, 1917: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fairmount5 historic placesC+Wheat Ridge5 historic placesC+Westminster6 historic placesCBerkleyIts storyC−

Questions about Arvada’s history

What year was Arvada founded?

In 1859, according to Wikidata. Arvada’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1910 counted 840 people here.

How does Arvada rank for history?

Arvada is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #54 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.

What is on the National Register in Arvada?

6 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Arvada Flour Mill (listed 1975, the first), and 4 historic districts with 199 contributing buildings. 201 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Arvada?

1% of Arvada’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1979.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.