The Ault post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gault (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 569 in 19102020 census: 1,887128 years
How historic is Ault?
B−
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ault post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ault’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ault is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #49 of 159 in Colorado. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ault’s overall grade.
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 Ault’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Ault’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1908Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
First called High Land, the town's name was changed to Burgdorff Siding, sometimes called Bergdorf Switch (after a railroad worker, who died in an accident). The Ault, Colorado, post office opened on March 29, 1898. The town was named after Alexander Ault, a Fort Collins, Colorado resident and owner of a flour mill. Mr. Ault had helped to avert financial disaster to the agricultural base by purchasing the entire grain harvest during a year of severe economic hardship. The Town of Berdorf was incorporated on August 26, 1901, but was renamed the Town of Ault in 1904.
Ault’s post office has been open since 1898. Another post office, Gault, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ault
1898–today
Gault
1900–1916
18901960today
1cemetery inside Ault
Ault
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Ault’s history
What year was Ault founded?
The Ault post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ault rank for history?
Ault is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #49 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.
How old are the homes in Ault?
27% of Ault’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (2), Wikipedia, 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.
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