The story
Read it all →How Avon came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Avon.
The town began as a railway station in 1889. Originally spelled "Avin", the name was later changed to "Avon".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
DHistory
History · Avon
Avon’s post office opened in 1900
More historic than 7% of U.S. towns · #128 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Avon was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1980.
1900first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Avon began
When was Avon founded?
1900
The Avon post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 640 in 19802020 census: 6,072126 years
How historic is Avon?
D
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 7% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Avon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Avon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Avon is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #128 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Avon’s overall grade.
Founding era1900, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.0% of homes (±2.4) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CO town 1.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 7%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 20%
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 Avon’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 D. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. 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 Avon’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 Avon’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Avon’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
Avon, decade by decade
2020
2020
2020
2018
2013On the map
Avon on the map, 1962 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Avon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Edwards sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Avon.
People over time
Avon, census by census
Between 640 and 6,447 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Avon’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Avon’s history
What year was Avon founded?
The Avon post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Avon rank for history?
Avon is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #128 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 Avon?
2% of Avon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1990.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.