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History · Crisman

Crisman dates to 1874

Most of Crisman was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1902 on.

1874founded
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Crisman began

When was Crisman founded?

1874

Crisman dates its founding to 1874 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1876.

2020 census: 179152 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1876.The full story ↓

What stands out about Crisman’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 Crisman are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19024 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1971. Watch Crisman change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crisman’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Crisman’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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On the map

Crisman on the map, 1902 to 1971

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

Crisman on the 1902 USGS mapCrisman on the 1957 USGS mapCrisman on the 1966 USGS mapCrisman on the 1971 USGS map1902Boulder 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 Crisman.

The story

How Crisman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crisman.

Read it all →

Crisman was founded in 1874 as a mining camp and named after the adjacent Crisman Mill, an ore-processing mill owned by prospector and early settler Obed Crisman. The Crisman, Colorado Territory, post office operated from July 20, 1876, until June 15, 1894, and then again from January 4, 1898, until May 31, 1918. The Boulder, Colorado, post office (ZIP code 80302) now serves the area. Crisman became a boomtown in 1881, when the Yellow Pine Mine produced a massive silver strike. Crisman became a stop on the Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific Railway. The Panic of 1893 and the subsequent crash of the silver market severely damaged Crisman's economy, although the nearby mines remained open for the duration. In 1894, Boulder Creek flooded, and much of the town was destroyed, including a section of railroad track. The obliterated structures were never rebuilt, and Crisman was significantly reduc…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crisman, 1874 to 1918

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874
    FoundingCrisman is established
  3. 1876Post officeThe Crisman post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1918Post officeThe Crisman post office closes
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Crisman

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

See all →
Edward Lawrie TatumUS genetics scientist · b. 1909
K
Kristin DavisAmerican actress · b. 1965
Scott CarpenterAmerican test pilot, astronaut and aquanaut · b. 1925
J
John Carroll LynchAmerican character actor and film director · b. 1963
Emma CoburnAmerican steeplechaser · b. 1990
Jack D. FischerAmerican astronaut · b. 1974
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Crisman had its own post office from 1876 to 1918.

Crisman
1876–1918
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Emancipation MinemineEvening Star MinemineFive Brothers MinemineGrace MinemineGrand Republic MinemineHome Sweet Home MinemineJake Witter MinemineLittle Julie 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.

Mountain MeadowsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSunshineIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Crisman’s history

What year was Crisman founded?

In 1874, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Crisman’s post office opened in 1876.

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 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.