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–Not graded
History · Blende

39% of Blende’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1960 on.

0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0

What stands out about Blende’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Blende are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Blende’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blende’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Blende, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Blende yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Blende is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Pueblo, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the Blende CDP was 788 at the United States Census 2020. Blende has never had a post office, but the Pueblo post office (Zip Code 81006) serves the area.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 878 to 788 (-10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Blende, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Blende, Colorado2020Blende, ColoradoAn array of signs, including the entryway neon of the Mesa Drive-in Theater, established in 19512015An array of signs, including the entryway neon of the…The ticket booth of the Mesa Drive-in Theater, established in 19512015The ticket booth of the Mesa Drive-in Theater, establ…The ticket booth of the Mesa Drive-in Theater, established in 1951 in Blende, a Pueblo, Colorado, a gritty suburb of Pu…2015The ticket booth of the Mesa Drive-in Theater, establ…An array of signs, including the entryway neon of the Mesa Drive-in Theater, established in 1951 in Blende, a Pueblo, C…2015An array of signs, including the entryway neon of the…
On the map

Blende on the map, 1960 to 1970

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

Blende on the 1960 USGS mapBlende on the 1970 USGS map1960Southeast Pueblo sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Blende

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

See all →
David PackardAmerican electrical engineer, businessman, and … · b. 1912
Jon WattsAmerican film director, producer and screenwrit… · b. 1981
Connie SawyerAmerican actress · b. 1912
Donald Howard MenzelAmerican astronomer · b. 1901
Grant WithersAmerican film actor · b. 1905
J
Joe BordeauxActor · b. 1886
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Salt CreekIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Blende’s history

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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.