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DHistory
History · Dillon

Dillon’s post office opened in 1879

More historic than 11% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Dillon was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1929 on, and the census since 1890.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dillon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dillon began

When was Dillon founded?

1879

The Dillon post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1883.

First census: 133 in 18902020 census: 1,064147 years

How historic is Dillon?

D

More historic than 11% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Dillon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1883.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dillon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dillon is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dillon’s overall grade.
Founding era1879, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±1.1) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CO town 1.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 11%
NewerOlder

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 Dillon’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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1883 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 →

What stands out about Dillon’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1960 and 1970, then grew 5-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dillon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNarrow gauge H. K. Porter tank locomoti…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Dillon, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020814 in 1960Low: 182

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1960 and 1970, then grew 5-fold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Dillon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dillon.

Read it all →

The original town of Dillon was built as a stage stop and trading post on the northeast side of the Snake River. The town was named for Tom Dillon, a prospector. The Dillon, Colorado, post office opened on October 24, 1879, and the Town of Dillon was incorporated on January 26, 1883. By 1892, the town had been relocated twice, both times in order to be closer to railroad lines that were extended into the area. All three of these historic townsites were situated very close to the Blue River Valley confluence where the Snake River and Tenmile Creek flowed in, and this area is now referred to collectively as "Old Dillon".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dillon, 1879 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Dillon post office opens
  3. 1894Born hereEnid Markey is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1925In the archiveNarrow gauge H. K. Porter tank locomotive and several iron and steel tipple ore cars, rai…
  6. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1964Born hereJulie McCluskie is born here
  8. 1980In the archiveSnowy Rocky Mountain peak above
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,064
By decade

Dillon, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Narrow gauge H. K. Porter tank locomotive and several iron and steel tipple ore cars, rails, the minehead at the abando…c. 1925Narrow gauge H. K. Porter tank locomotive and several…
1930s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s2 items
Snowy Rocky Mountain peak above1980Snowy Rocky Mountain peak aboveSnowy Rocky Mountain peak above Dillon, Colorado1980Snowy Rocky Mountain peak above Dillon, Colorado
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
Snow covered mountains in Keystone Ski Resort (Unsplash)2016Snow covered mountains in Keystone Ski Resort (Unspla…Mount Guyot (Colorado) viewed from Dillon Reservoir July 20162016Mount Guyot (Colorado) viewed from Dillon Reservoir J…Ephemeral2016EphemeralBald Mountain, Summit County, Colorado viewed from Dillon Reservoir2016Bald Mountain, Summit County, Colorado viewed from Di…Summit of Argentine Pass between Clear Creek and Summit Counties, looking S, central Rocky Mountains, CO, USA2014Summit of Argentine Pass between Clear Creek and Summ…DILLON, COLORADO SUNRISE2012DILLON, COLORADO SUNRISEDillon, Colorado2010Dillon, ColoradoDescent to2010Descent toCOMap-doton-Dillon2005COMap-doton-Dillon
On the map

Dillon on the map, 1929 to 1987

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

Dillon on the 1929 USGS mapDillon on the 1934 USGS mapDillon on the 1970 USGS mapDillon on the 1987 USGS map1929Dillon 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 Dillon.

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.

Narrow gauge H. K. Porter tank locomotive and several iron and steel tipple ore cars, rails, the minehead at the abando…
Retake this viewNarrow gauge H. K. Porter tank locomotive and several iron and steel tipple ore cars, rails, the minehead at the abando…, c. 1925

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Dillon

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Enid MarkeyAmerican actress of stage, film and television · b. 1894
J
Julie McCluskieAmerican politician · b. 1964
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

SilverthorneIts storyD−

Questions about Dillon’s history

What year was Dillon founded?

The Dillon post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1883.

How does Dillon rank for history?

Dillon is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Dillon?

0.0% of Dillon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1979.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.