Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #124 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Dacono was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2009. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1910.
Dacono dates its founding to 1901 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dacono is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #124 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Dacono’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dacono’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Dacono.
The city name's is an amalgamation of the names of Daisy Baum, Cora Van Vorhies, and Nora Brooks, wives of local coal mine operators. Dacono was first settled in 1901, and early settlers moved there to work in the coal mines. The Dacono, Colorado, post office opened on December 21, 1907, and the Town of Dacono was incorporated on September 23, 1908.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dacono. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dacono.
Grew from 180 people in 1910 to 6,297 in 2020, more than tenfold.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dacono’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Dacono itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Dacono’s post office has been open since 1907.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1901, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Dacono’s post office opened in 1907, and the census of 1910 counted 180 people here.
Dacono is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #124 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.
2% of Dacono’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 2009.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), 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.
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