The story
Read it all →How Clifton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Clifton.
The Clifton, Colorado, post office opened on August 18, 1900 The community was named for cliffs near the town site.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Clifton
Clifton’s post office opened in 1900, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #94 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Clifton was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listings are the Clifton Community Center and Church and the Kettle-Jens House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1962 on, and the census since 1970.
1900first post office
2on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Quick answers
How Clifton began
When was Clifton founded?
1900
The Clifton post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 5,223 in 19702020 census: 20,413126 years
How historic is Clifton?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Clifton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clifton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clifton is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #94 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 Clifton’s overall grade.
Founding era1900, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19403.0% of homes (±1.6) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 1.0 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 41%
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 Clifton’s 1.0 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Clifton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Clifton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clifton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Clifton, 1900 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Clifton, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1980s2 items
19801990snothing 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
2013
2013
2013
2005On the map
Clifton on the map, 1962 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clifton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Clifton sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clifton.
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.
Retake this viewDesolate view of the Utah desert from an Interstate highway, 1980
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Clifton’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
2 historic places in Clifton
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Clifton Community Center and Church
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Queen Anne1
Shingle Style1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Clifton, census by census
Grew from 5,223 people in 1970 to 20,413 in 2020, 3 times over.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Clifton’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners
Clifton’s post office has been open since 1900.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Pear Park
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.
Questions about Clifton’s history
What year was Clifton founded?
The Clifton post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Clifton rank for history?
Clifton is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #94 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 Clifton?
Two places: the Clifton Community Center and Church (listed 1982) and the Kettle-Jens House (1983).
How old are the homes in Clifton?
3% of Clifton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1987.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.