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Quick answers
How Dotsero began
When was Dotsero founded?
1883
The Dotsero post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 1,172143 years
How historic is Dotsero?
D
More historic than 11% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Dotsero post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dotsero’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dotsero 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 Dotsero’s overall grade.
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 Dotsero’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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Dotsero’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Dotsero is an important railroad junction point on the Central Corridor of the Union Pacific Railroad (formerly Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad until 1992), on its Denver to Salt Lake City line. The railroad, built in 1881 by the then narrow gauge Denver & Rio Grande, was en route westward from Pueblo, Colorado through the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River and over Tennessee Pass, passing through the site of Dotsero and onward to Grand Junction.
Dotsero had its own post office from 1883 to 1948.
Dotsero
1883–1948
18801950today
1cemetery inside Dotsero
Dotsero
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Dotsero’s history
What year was Dotsero founded?
The Dotsero post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dotsero rank for history?
Dotsero 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 Dotsero?
0.0% of Dotsero’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 2004.
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, 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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