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–Not graded
History · Coaldale

Coaldale’s post office opened in 1891

Most of Coaldale was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1959 on.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Coaldale began

When was Coaldale founded?

1891

The Coaldale post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hayden Creek (1878), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 343135 years
Founding year: the first Coaldale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Coaldale’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 Coaldale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Coaldale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coaldale’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 Coaldale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Coaldale.

Read it all →

The Coaldale, Colorado, post office opened on February 16, 1891.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Coaldale, 1878 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Hayden Creek post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Hayden Creek post office closes
  4. 1891Post officeThe Coaldale post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Coaldale, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Abandoned bridge in2018Abandoned bridge in
On the map

Coaldale on the map, 1959 to 1994

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

Coaldale on the 1959 USGS mapCoaldale on the 1980 USGS mapCoaldale on the 1994 USGS map1959Howard 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 Coaldale.

Famous people

Famous people close to Coaldale

Nobody well known was born in Coaldale itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
L
Leslie WhiteAmerican anthropologist · b. 1900
E
Elaine AndersonAmerican paleontologist · b. 1936
Emory S. LandUnited States admiral · b. 1879
Florence FairAmerican actress · b. 1907
J
Jan AngelAmerican politician
J
Jon KeyserAttorney and United States politician · b. 1981
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Coaldale’s post office has been open since 1891. Another post office, Hayden Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hayden Creek
1878–1880
Coaldale
1891–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Pleasanton

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.

HowardIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Coaldale’s history

What year was Coaldale founded?

The Coaldale post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.