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CHistory
History · Castle Rock

Castle Rock’s post office opened in 1871, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #76 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

Most of Castle Rock was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
6on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Castle Rock’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Castle Rock began

When was Castle Rock founded?

1871

The Castle Rock post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1874. Another post office, Rock Ridge (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 88 in 18802020 census: 73,158155 years

How historic is Castle Rock?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Castle Rock post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Castle Rock’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Castle Rock is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #76 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Castle Rock’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.3% of homes (±0.2) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register6 listings, 9 historic buildings, 1.1 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 53%

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 Castle Rock’s 1.1 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1874 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Castle Rock’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1890 to 1914, drew every building in Castle Rock.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Castle Rock’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRocky Mountain Views: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Castle Rock, building by building, 1890–1914

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.

Castle Rock fire insurance map, 1890, sheet 11890Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

6 historic places in Castle Rock

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Castle Rock Depot
Castle Rock Depot, built 1875Benjamin Hammar HouseFirst National Bank of Douglas CountySamuel Dyer HouseCastle Rock Elementary SchoolKeystone Hotel
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian2
Victorian1
Italianate1
Italian Villa1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century Commercial Style1
Castle Rock DepotVictorian · Built 1875
Benjamin Hammar HouseLate Victorian
First National Bank of Douglas CountyLate Victorian
Samuel Dyer HouseBuilding
All 6 listings
Castle Rock Elementary SchoolBuilding · listed 1984Keystone HotelBuilding · listed 1997

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

The story

How Castle Rock came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Castle Rock.

Read it all →

White settlers were drawn to the area by rumors of gold and by land opened through the Homestead Act of 1862. The discovery of rhyolite stone, though, not gold, ultimately led to the settlement of Castle Rock.

Castle Rock was founded in 1874 when the eastern Douglas County border was redrawn to its present location. Castle Rock was chosen as the county seat because of its central location.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Castle Rock, 1871 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Castle Rock post office opens
  3. 1872Post officeThe Rock Ridge post office opens
  4. 1875BuiltCastle Rock Depot is built
  5. 1892Post officeThe Rock Ridge post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1909In the archiveTopographical Map of Washington Showing Castle Rock, the Cowlitz River, and the Condition…
  8. 1917In the archiveRocky Mountain Views
  9. 1921Born hereEdward Seidensticker is born here
  10. 1940In the archiveColorado - Alamosa through Cheyenne Mountain
  11. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1987Born hereCortney Palm is born here
  13. 1994Born hereMax McCaffrey is born here
  14. 1996Born hereChristian McCaffrey is born here
By decade

Castle Rock, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1940s3 items
Topographical Map of Washington Showing Castle Rock, the Cowlitz River, and the Condition of Roads, Soil, Coal, and Cam…1909Topographical Map of Washington Showing Castle Rock, …MapRocky Mountain Views1917Rocky Mountain ViewsColorado - Alamosa through Cheyenne Mountain1940Colorado - Alamosa through Cheyenne Mountain
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
1st National Douglas County CO20101st National Douglas County COCastle Rock, Colorado2008Castle Rock, ColoradoCastle View High School2007Castle View High SchoolCastlerocktown2006CastlerocktownCOMap-doton-CastleRock2005COMap-doton-CastleRockFEMA - 7527 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 06-18-2002 in Colorado2002FEMA - 7527 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 0…FEMA - 7526 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 06-13-2002 in Colorado2002FEMA - 7526 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 0…FEMA - 7284 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 06-19-2002 in Colorado2002FEMA - 7284 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 0…FEMA - 7208 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 06-21-2002 in Colorado2002FEMA - 7208 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 0…FEMA - 7199 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 06-13-2002 in Colorado2002FEMA - 7199 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 0…FEMA - 7191 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 06-13-2002 in Colorado2002FEMA - 7191 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 0…FEMA - 7185 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 06-13-2002 in Colorado2002FEMA - 7185 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 0…FEMA - 13354 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 11-21-2002 in Colorado2002FEMA - 13354 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on …FEMA - 11959 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 06-12-2002 in Colorado2002FEMA - 11959 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on …
On the map

Castle Rock on the map, 1940 to 1978

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

Castle Rock on the 1940 USGS mapCastle Rock on the 1965 USGS mapCastle Rock on the 1978 USGS map1940Castle Rock sheet · 1:62,500

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

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.

Rocky Mountain Views
Retake this viewRocky Mountain Views, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Castle Rock, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,0001880190019201940196019802000202073,158

Grew from 88 people in 1880 to 73,158 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Castle Rock

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

See all →
Christian McCaffreyAmerican football player · b. 1996
Edward SeidenstickerAmerican Japanologist · b. 1921
Cortney PalmAmerican actress and author · b. 1987
Max McCaffreyAmerican football player · b. 1994
Nelson RangellAmerican musician · b. 1960
Will OwenAmerican racing driver · b. 1995
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Castle Rock’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Rock Ridge, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Castle Rock
1871–today
Rock Ridge
1872–1892
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Founders Village
Gone or out of use
Denver-Douglas Landing StripairportM Y M Minemine

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Castle Pines VillageIts storyD−Castle PinesIts storyD−The PineryIts storyD

Questions about Castle Rock’s history

What year was Castle Rock founded?

The Castle Rock post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1874.

How does Castle Rock rank for history?

Castle Rock is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #76 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 Castle Rock?

6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Castle Rock Depot (listed 1974, the first). 9 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Castle Rock?

0.3% of Castle Rock’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 2007.

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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.