Cañon City dates to 1858, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #9 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
15 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 81 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1959 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cañon City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cañon City is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #9 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cañon City’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 Cañon City’s 55.5 sits above most of its state (90% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 95 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). Two sources give 1858.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Cañon City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Cañon City, Kansas Territory, was laid out on January 17, 1858, during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, but then the land was left idle. A new company "jumped the claim" to the town's site in late 1859, and it put up the first building in February 1860. The Cañon City, Kansas Territory, post office opened on December 13, 1860. The spelling of the town's name frequently omitted the tilde over the Spanish letter ñ. This town was originally intended as a commercial center for mining in South Park and the upper Arkansas River.
The new Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28, 1861, and Fremont County, Colorado Territory was created on November 1, 1861, with Cañon City as the first and only county seat.
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 1858, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cañon City’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1870 counted 229 people here.
How does Cañon City rank for history?
Cañon City is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #9 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 Cañon City?
15 listings: 13 buildings, among them the McClure House (listed 1979, the first), 1 historic district, the Canon City Downtown Historic District, with 81 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 95 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Cañon City?
20% of Cañon City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (15), 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) 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.
1882
1882
1940
1940
