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C−History
History · Broomfield

Broomfield was first counted by the census in 1960, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #104 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

Most of Broomfield was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1940 on, and the census since 1960.

1960first census
1on the National Register
0.2%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Broomfield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Broomfield began

When was Broomfield founded?

1960

Broomfield first appears in the census in 1960.

First census: 4,535 in 19602020 census: 74,11266 years

How historic is Broomfield?

C−

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Broomfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Broomfield is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #104 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Broomfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1960, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.2% of homes (±0.1) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 14 historic buildings, 1.8 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 15%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 35%

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 Broomfield’s 1.8 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.1 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Broomfield’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages12 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Broomfield’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewChild of Manuel Alcala, miner, coloring…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Aspen CreekBrandywineBroadlandsBroadlands WestBroomfield HeightsCountry EstatesCrofton ParkMcKay LandingMountain View EstatesNorthmoorSunnyslope EstatesThe Broadlands
Gone or out of use
Baker PitmineCrandell Number Four MinemineCrandell Number Three MinemineCrandell Number Two MinemineCrescent MinemineLiley MinemineMonarch MinemineMonarch Number Two MinemineParkdale PitmineTom Bowen MinemineVesuvius Minemine
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Broomfield
Broomfield County CommonsEvergreen Memorial ParkLakeview

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Broomfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Broomfield.

Read it all →

The Broomfield post office opened on September 26, 1884. Historians speculate that the town was named for the sorghum grown in the area, also known as broomcorn, which had stalks that were sold to make brooms and whisk brooms.

Several railroads figure in the development of this area. The Colorado Central Railroad built a narrow-gauge line from Golden in 1873; the Denver, Utah and Pacific Railroad arrived in 1881; and the Denver, Marshall and Boulder Railway built a line through what is now Broomfield in 1886. The Denver, Utah and Pacific was widened to standard gauge in 1889. One of the early names for the area was Zang's Spur, after the railroad spur serving Adolph Zang's grain fields.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Broomfield, 1940 to 2003

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1946In the archiveChild of Manuel Alcala, miner, coloring pattern in book. National Fuel Company, Monarch M…
  4. 1992Born hereShelby Babcock is born here
  5. 1996Born hereWill Graber is born here
  6. 21st century
  7. 2003Born hereColin Duffy is born here
By decade

Broomfield, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s4 items
Child of Manuel Alcala, miner, coloring pattern in book. National Fuel Company, Monarch Mine, Broomfield, Boulder Count…1946Child of Manuel Alcala, miner, coloring pattern in bo…Dining room in home of Manuel Alcala, miner, living in company housing project. National Fuel Company, Monarch Mine... …1946Dining room in home of Manuel Alcala, miner, living i…Home of Manuel Alcala, miner, living in company housing project. National Fuel Company, Monarch Mine, Broomfield, Bould…1946Home of Manuel Alcala, miner, living in company housi…Part of company housing project. National Fuel Company, Monarch Mine, Broomfield, Boulder County, Colorado1946Part of company housing project. National Fuel Compan…
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
Today14 recent
Flatirons view from2017Flatirons view fromThe Ride WB bus stop, 120th at Sheridan2016The Ride WB bus stop, 120th at SheridanPythagoras Award Hologram2016Pythagoras Award HologramMysterious2014MysteriousHighway mountains2011Highway mountainsUS36WBCO47.22009US36WBCO47.2US36&EFlatironsCirRTD2009US36&EFlatironsCirRTDOmni Interlocken Resort, pool2009Omni Interlocken Resort, poolBroomfield, CO, USA2008Broomfield, CO, USABroomfield, CO, USA - panoramio - jtsmmm2008Broomfield, CO, USA - panoramio - jtsmmmApproaching E-4702008Approaching E-470Tulips - Broomfield - CO2006Tulips - Broomfield - CODuck2005DuckApartment Complex2005Apartment Complex
On the map

Broomfield on the map, 1940 to 1971

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

Broomfield on the 1940 USGS mapBroomfield on the 1956 USGS mapBroomfield on the 1965 USGS mapBroomfield on the 1971 USGS map1940Lafayette 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 Broomfield.

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.

Child of Manuel Alcala, miner, coloring pattern in book. National Fuel Company, Monarch Mine, Broomfield, Boulder Count…
Retake this viewChild of Manuel Alcala, miner, coloring pattern in book. National Fuel Company, Monarch Mine, Broomfield, Boulder Count…, 1946

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 14 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
14
each building in a district counts
first listed
2023
Rock Creek Farm Rural Historic District
Rock Creek Farm Rural Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Rock Creek Farm Rural Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2023

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

People over time

Broomfield, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000196019802000202074,112

Grew from 4,535 people in 1960 to 74,112 in 2020, more than tenfold.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Broomfield

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

See all →
Colin DuffySport climber from the United States · b. 2003
W
Will GraberIce hockey player · b. 1996
S
Shelby BabcockAmerican softball player · b. 1992
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Westminster6 historic placesCSuperiorIts storyDThornton1 historic placeDLafayette8 historic placesC+Louisville12 historic placesC+Erie1 historic placeC−Northglenn3 historic placesC−DaconoIts storyD

Questions about Broomfield’s history

What year was Broomfield founded?

The Broomfield post office opened in 1960, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2001.

How does Broomfield rank for history?

Broomfield is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #104 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 Broomfield?

One place: the Rock Creek Farm Rural Historic District (listed 2023).

How old are the homes in Broomfield?

0.2% of Broomfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 2002.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.