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History · Empire

Empire’s post office opened in 1886, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Mint Saloon and the Peck House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1890.

1886first post office
2on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Empire’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Empire began

When was Empire founded?

1886

The Empire post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Empire City (1861), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 134 in 18902020 census: 345140 years
Founding year: the first Empire post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Empire’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.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1900 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.On the map since 19103 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1974. Watch Empire change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Empire’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewColorado [Adams County - Las Animas Cou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Empire, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020276 in 1900Low: 93

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1900 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

On the map

Empire on the map, 1910 to 1974

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

Empire on the 1910 USGS mapEmpire on the 1958 USGS mapEmpire on the 1974 USGS map1910Central City 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 Empire.

The story

How Empire came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Empire.

Read it all →

The Empire City, Colorado Territory, post office opened on June 28, 1861, but the name was shortened to Empire on May 7, 1866. The town was named after the "Empire State" of New York. The Town of Empire was incorporated on April 12, 1882.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Empire, 1861 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1861Post officeThe Empire City post office opens
  3. 1886Post officeThe Empire City post office closes
  4. 1886Post officeThe Empire post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1940In the archiveColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
  8. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 423
By decade

Empire, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
1950s–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
Today23 recent
Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0366)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0354)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0348)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0332)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0304)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0272)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0270)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0247)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0243)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0224)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (20200619-OSEC-LSC-0217)2020Secretary Perdue and Senator Gardner in Denver Area (…20200619-OSEC-LSC-0498-Pano202020200619-OSEC-LSC-0498-PanoEmpire (Dairy King) 2016-07-12 11122016Empire (Dairy King) 2016-07-12 1112Sign for the Red Men Hall2015Sign for the Red Men HallSign for the Red Men Hall in2014Sign for the Red Men Hall inWelcome to Empire, CO sign2013Welcome to Empire, CO signMint Lode2013Mint LodeEmpire cityscape from Douglas Mountain2013Empire cityscape from Douglas MountainEmpire cityscape from Douglas Mountain2013Empire cityscape from Douglas MountainEmpire City Limit sign2013Empire City Limit signPeck House2011Peck HouseMint Saloon2011Mint SaloonCOMap-doton-Empire2005COMap-doton-Empire
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.

Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
Retake this viewColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)], 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Empire

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
1993
Mint Saloon
Mint SaloonPeck House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Style1
Late Victorian1
Mint SaloonCommercial Style
Peck HouseLate Victorian

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Empire

Nobody well known was born in Empire itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Arthur HoytAmerican film actor · b. 1874
Enid MarkeyAmerican actress of stage, film and television · b. 1894
J
Jake CanterAmerican snowboarder · b. 2003
Eric StoughAmerican animator and producer · b. 1972
Noah HoffmanAmerican cross-country skier · b. 1989
C
Chris CorningAmerican snowboarder · b. 1999
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Empire’s post office has been open since 1886. Another post office, Empire City, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Empire City
1861–1886
Empire
1886–today
18601940today
Gone or out of use
ACA MinemineBelle of Empire MinemineBlack Prince MinemineBlaine MinemineBlooming Thistle MinemineButler MinemineCashier MinemineChallenge MinemineCombination MinemineCorona MinemineDead Jack MinemineDuluth MinemineEmpire City MinemineGold Bug MinemineGolden Empire MinemineHelen MinemineHoward MinemineImperial Chief Minemine
1cemetery inside Empire
Empire

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

Questions about Empire’s history

What year was Empire founded?

The Empire post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Empire?

Two places: the Mint Saloon (listed 1993) and the Peck House (1993).

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 Wikimedia Commons (23), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.