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History · Copper Mountain

Half of Copper Mountain’s homes were built after 1985

Most of Copper Mountain was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1934 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Rudi Riet from Washington, DC, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0

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

Start Copper Mountain’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Copper Mountain.

Read it all →

Copper Mountain was originally named "Wheeler" for a local judge and developer. The Wheeler, Colorado, post office operated from April 1, 1880, until May 14, 1894. The Town of Wheeler incorporated as a statutory town, but was declared abandoned in 2005.

The Copper Mountain Ski Resort opened in 1972, and wished to change the former town's name. The naming question was settled by a decision from the Board on Geographic Names, which ruled in favor of "Copper Mountain" in 1977. The Copper Mountain, Colorado, post office opened on September 8, 1977, but the Frisco, Colorado, post office (ZIP code 80443) now serves the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Copper Mountain, 1880 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Wheeler post office opens
  3. 1894Post officeThe Wheeler post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Copper Mountain, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Rain on the Roof - Flickr - incidencematrix2024Rain on the Roof - Flickr - incidencematrix2022-09-09 24 59 24 UTC minus 6 View south along Colorado State Route 91 just south of Interstate 70 in20222022-09-09 24 59 24 UTC minus 6 View south along Colo…Mountaintop view from the Copper Mountain Ski Resort. Unlike most other Colorado ski towns such as Aspen and Telluride …2016Mountaintop view from the Copper Mountain Ski Resort.…
On the map

Copper Mountain on the map, 1934 to 1987

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

Copper Mountain on the 1934 USGS mapCopper Mountain on the 1970 USGS mapCopper Mountain on the 1987 USGS map1934Dillon 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 Copper Mountain.

Famous people

Famous people close to Copper Mountain

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

See all →
Mikaela ShiffrinAmerican alpine skier · b. 1995
Jaelin KaufAmerican freestyle skier · b. 1996
Elizabeth LemleyAmerican freestyle skier · b. 2006
Arthur HoytAmerican film actor · b. 1874
June MathisAmerican screenwriter, producer and film studio… · b. 1887
Enid MarkeyAmerican actress of stage, film and television · b. 1894
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Wheeler, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Wheeler Junction
Gone or out of use
American Metals Incline MinemineAxtell Tunnel MinemineEagle Number One MinemineLucky Strike MinemineNew Shaft MinemineQueen-of-the-West MinemineQueen-of-the-West MinemineSelma MinemineTen Mile Tunnel MinemineVictory Tunnel MinemineWalsh Incline MinemineWheel of Fortune MinemineWilson Minemine

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

Questions about Copper Mountain’s history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (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.