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B−History
History · Eaton

Eaton’s post office opened in 1883, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #34 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Aaron James Eaton House and the Alger, Amanda K., Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1900.

1883first post office
2on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eaton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Eaton began

When was Eaton founded?

1883

The Eaton post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Eatonton (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 384 in 19002020 census: 5,802143 years

How historic is Eaton?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Eaton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eaton is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #34 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eaton’s overall grade.
Founding era1883, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.0% of homes (±6.6) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 5.1 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 79%

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 Eaton’s 5.1 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 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 Eaton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1921, drew every building in Eaton.
★ What stands out · Every building

Eaton, building by building, 1895–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Eaton fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Eaton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eaton.

Read it all →

The town is named for Benjamin H. Eaton and Aaron J. Eaton, of the Eaton Milling and Elevator Company, pioneers of irrigation who played a leading role in transforming the arid prairie of the Great Plains east of Colorado's Front Range into a thriving agricultural region with water brought from the nearby Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. The Eatonton, Colorado, post office opened on September 25, 1882, but the name was shortened to Eaton a year later on September 28, 1883. Eaton was first named Eatonton to avoid conflict with the Easton post office in El Paso county. When Easton had changed its name to Eastonville, the last syllable of Eatonton was dropped, and the town has since been known as Eaton.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eaton, 1882 to 1987

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Eatonton post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Eatonton post office closes
  4. 1883Post officeThe Eaton post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906In the archiveJames Leroy Stockton (The Chautauquan, 1906)
  7. 1925BuiltAlger, Amanda K., Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church is built
  8. 1931Born hereHarvey Achziger is born here
  9. 1935Born hereShirley Dean is born here
  10. 1939In the archiveMrs. Calvin Brown, wife of FSA(Farm Security Administration) borrower, with grandson in g…
  11. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1987Born hereMitch Unrein is born here
By decade

Eaton, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s5 items
James Leroy Stockton (The Chautauquan, 1906)1906James Leroy Stockton (The Chautauquan, 1906)Mrs. Calvin Brown, wife of FSA(Farm Security Administration) borrower, with grandson in garden near Eaton, Colorado1939Mrs. Calvin Brown, wife of FSA(Farm Security Administ…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Mr. Calvin Brown and grandson1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Mr. Calvin Brown…Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Brown and grandson on the steps of their house near Eaton, Colorado. FSA (Farm Security Administrat…1939Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Brown and grandson on the steps o…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Mrs. Calvin Brown, wife of FSA (Farm Security Administration) borrower, with grand…1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Mrs. Calvin Brow…
1940s–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
Today24 recent
20190812-AMS-PJK-4357 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-4357 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-4351 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-4351 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-4299 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-4299 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-4267 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-4267 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-4241 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-4241 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3439 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3439 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3417 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3417 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3404 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3404 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3395 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3395 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3358 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3358 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3346 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3346 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3312 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3312 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3263 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3263 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3253 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3253 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3240 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3240 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3217 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3217 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3186 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3186 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3154 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3154 TONED20190812-AMS-PJK-3099 TONED201920190812-AMS-PJK-3099 TONEDJust a smidge of the more than 1,400 washing machines and wash products on display at Lee Maxwell's Washing Machine Mus…2016Just a smidge of the more than 1,400 washing machines…Just a smidge of the more than 1,400 washing machines and wash products on display at Lee Maxwell's Washing Machine Mus…2016Just a smidge of the more than 1,400 washing machines…Amanda K. Alger Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church2012Amanda K. Alger Memorial Methodist Episcopal ChurchFrom Detoured California Zephyr at2010From Detoured California Zephyr atEatoncolorado2007Eatoncolorado
On the map

Eaton on the map, 1960 to 1971

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

Eaton on the 1960 USGS mapEaton on the 1971 USGS map1960Eaton sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

James Leroy Stockton (The Chautauquan, 1906)
Retake this viewJames Leroy Stockton (The Chautauquan, 1906), 1906

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Eaton

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2006
Aaron James Eaton House
Aaron James Eaton HouseAlger, Amanda K., Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, built 1925
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Late Gothic Revival1
Aaron James Eaton HouseQueen Anne
Alger, Amanda K., Memorial Methodist Episcopal ChurchLate Gothic Revival · Built 1925

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

People over time

Eaton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,00019001920194019601980200020205,802

Grew from 384 people in 1900 to 5,802 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Eaton

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

See all →
Mitch UnreinAmerican football player · b. 1987
H
Harvey AchzigerCanadian football player · b. 1931
S
Shirley DeanAmerican mayor · b. 1935
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Eaton’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Eatonton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Eatonton
1882–1883
Eaton
1883–today
18801950today
1cemetery inside Eaton
Eaton

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Eaton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewJames Leroy Stockton (The Chautauquan, …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Eaton’s history

What year was Eaton founded?

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

How does Eaton rank for history?

Eaton is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #34 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.

What is on the National Register in Eaton?

Two places: the Aaron James Eaton House (listed 2006) and the Alger, Amanda K., Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church (2006).

How old are the homes in Eaton?

13% of Eaton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 2003.

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 (23), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.