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History · Carbonate

Carbonate dates to 1879

Below: maps from 1974 on.

1879founded
0on the National Register
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Quick answers

How Carbonate began

When was Carbonate founded?

1879

Carbonate dates its founding to 1879 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1883.

147 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓

What stands out about Carbonate’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 Carbonate are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Carbonate’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Carbonate came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carbonate.

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Carbonate was founded as a silver camp in 1879. On February 10, 1883, Colorado created Garfield County and designated Carbonate as the original county seat. The Town of Carbonate incorporated on April 13, 1883, and the Carbonate, Colorado, post office opened the same day. Carbonate's location high in the Flat Tops mountains made access difficult. After a few months, the Garfield County seat was moved to Glenwood Hot Springs. As the silver played out, miners departed. The Carbonate post office closed on November 15, 1886. By 1890, no residents remained.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Carbonate, 1879 to 1974

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879
    FoundingCarbonate is established
  3. 1883Post officeThe Carbonate post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Carbonate post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1974On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Carbonate on the map, 1974 to 1987

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

Carbonate on the 1974 USGS mapCarbonate on the 1987 USGS map1974Carbonate 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 Carbonate.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Carbonate had its own post office from 1883 to 1886.

Carbonate
1883–1886
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Carbonate’s history

What year was Carbonate founded?

In 1879, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Carbonate’s post office opened in 1883.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.