Breckenridge dates to 1859, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #37 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Breckenridge was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 225 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1883 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Breckenridge’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Breckenridge is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #37 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Breckenridge’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 Breckenridge’s 458 sits above most of its state (99% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 227 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 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 Breckenridge’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Breckenridge, census by census
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1880 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.
15 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Breckenridge’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Breckenridge, building by building, 1883–1914
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.
1883Sheet 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.
The first prospectors in the area built a stockade known as Fort Mary B named after Mary Bigelow, who was the only woman in the party. The town of Breckenridge was founded in November 1859 and named for prospector Thomas Breckenridge. General George E. Spencer persuaded the citizens to change the spelling of the town's name to Breckinridge in honor of U.S. Vice President John Cabell Breckinridge in the hopes of gaining a post office. Spencer succeeded in his plan and on January 18, 1860, the Breckinridge post office became the first U.S. post office between the Continental Divide and Salt Lake City. Thirty days after John Breckinridge accepted a commission as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army on November 2, 1861, the loyal Union town changed its name back to the original Breckenridge on December 2, 1861.
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.
In 1859, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Breckenridge’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1870 counted 51 people here.
How does Breckenridge rank for history?
Breckenridge is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #37 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 Breckenridge?
Three places: the Breckenridge Historic District (listed 1980), the Masonic Placer Cemetery-Valley Brook Cemetery (2014) and the Bunk House Lodge (2025).
How old are the homes in Breckenridge?
2% of Breckenridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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