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History · Crowley

Crowley’s post office opened in 1914, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Crowley School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1920.

1914first post office
1on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Crowley’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Crowley began

When was Crowley founded?

1914

The Crowley post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 224 in 19202020 census: 166112 years
Founding year: the first Crowley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Crowley’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18913 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1981. Watch Crowley change.Old housesHalf of Crowley’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 379 in 1950; 166 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crowley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewManzanola Bridge, State Highway 207, sp…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Crowley on the map, 1891 to 1981

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

Crowley on the 1891 USGS mapCrowley on the 1954 USGS mapCrowley on the 1981 USGS map1891Catlin sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Crowley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crowley.

Read it all →

The Crowley, Colorado, post office opened on December 18, 1914, and the Town of Crowley was incorporated on October 10, 1921.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crowley, 1891 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1914Post officeThe Crowley post office opens
  5. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 379
By decade

Crowley, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Manzanola Bridge, State Highway 207, spanning Arkansas River, Manzanola, Otero County, CODate?Manzanola Bridge, State Highway 207, spanning Arkansa…
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.

Manzanola Bridge, State Highway 207, spanning Arkansas River, Manzanola, Otero County, CO
Retake this viewManzanola Bridge, State Highway 207, spanning Arkansas River, Manzanola, Otero County, CO

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Crowley

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Crowley School
Crowley School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italian Renaissance1
Crowley SchoolItalian Renaissance

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

People over time

Crowley, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 379

Peaked at 379 in 1950; 166 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Questions about Crowley’s history

What year was Crowley founded?

The Crowley post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Crowley?

One place: the Crowley School (listed 1999).

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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.