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CHistory
History · Fountain

Fountain dates to 1859, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #68 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

Most of Fountain was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Its Register listing is the Old Livery Stable. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1880.

1859founded
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Fountain began

When was Fountain founded?

1859

Fountain dates its founding to 1859 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 99 in 18802020 census: 29,802167 years

How historic is Fountain?

C

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fountain’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fountain is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #68 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fountain’s overall grade.
Founding era1859, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.6% of homes (±2.9) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 0.3 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 34%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 58%

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 Fountain’s 0.3 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1859.

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 →

What stands out about Fountain’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fountain’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fountain’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 viewMrs. A. E. Orcutt (Colorado Club Woman,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Fountain came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fountain.

Read it all →

Fountain was built in 1859 as a railroad shipping center for local ranches and farms. The town was named for Fountain Creek and was incorporated in 1900.

A train wreck, "The Blast", as it is now known, occurred in Fountain during the spring of 1888. Just after three in the morning on May 14, 1888, a freight train carrying eighteen tons of explosives and a passenger train collided in the city. The accident killed three people: Charles F. Smith, a Fountain lumber dealer originally from Keokuk, Iowa, Henry Hutchins, a Fountain merchant and Mrs. Sarah Widrig a local hat maker from Fountain. (There are conflicting reports of others who may not have died immediately, but later as a result of injuries from the crash.)

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fountain, 1859 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859
    FoundingFountain is established
  3. 1864Post officeThe Fountain post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1929In the archiveMrs. A. E. Orcutt (Colorado Club Woman, 1929)
  6. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1981Born hereJon Watts is born here
  8. 1984Born hereChase Headley is born here
  9. 1994Born hereMorgan Fox is born here
  10. 1997Born hereG'Angelo Hancock is born here
By decade

Fountain, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Mrs. A. E. Orcutt (Colorado Club Woman, 1929)1929Mrs. A. E. Orcutt (Colorado Club Woman, 1929)
1930s–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
Today11 recent
Climbing the hill 130425-A-UK001-0182013Climbing the hill 130425-A-UK001-018US Navy 110512-N-KE905-255 Retired Master Chief James2011US Navy 110512-N-KE905-255 Retired Master Chief James9-11 anniversary, Family shares its story DVIDS45319720119-11 anniversary, Family shares its story DVIDS4531979-11 anniversary, Family shares its story DVIDS45319620119-11 anniversary, Family shares its story DVIDS4531969-11 anniversary, Family shares its story DVIDS45319420119-11 anniversary, Family shares its story DVIDS4531949-11 anniversary, Family shares its story DVIDS45319320119-11 anniversary, Family shares its story DVIDS4531939-11 anniversary, Family shares its story DVIDS45319220119-11 anniversary, Family shares its story DVIDS453192Flickr - Nicholas T - Skewed2007Flickr - Nicholas T - SkewedFountain, Colorado, Interstate 25 South of Colorado Springs, Colorado2006Fountain, Colorado, Interstate 25 South of Colorado S…Fountain, Colorado, Interstate 25 South of Colorado Springs, Colorado2006Fountain, Colorado, Interstate 25 South of Colorado S…Fountain, Colorado, Interstate 25 South of Colorado Springs, Colorado2006Fountain, Colorado, Interstate 25 South of Colorado S…
On the map

Fountain on the map, 1948 to 1976

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

Fountain on the 1948 USGS mapFountain on the 1950 USGS mapFountain on the 1961 USGS mapFountain on the 1976 USGS map1948Fountain 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 Fountain.

Every building

Fountain, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Fountain fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Mrs. A. E. Orcutt (Colorado Club Woman, 1929)
Retake this viewMrs. A. E. Orcutt (Colorado Club Woman, 1929), 1929

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Fountain

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Old Livery Stable
Old Livery Stable
Buildings
Old Livery StableBuilding

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

People over time

Fountain, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,0001880190019201940196019802000202029,802

Grew from 99 people in 1880 to 29,802 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Fountain

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

See all →
Jon WattsAmerican film director, producer and screenwrit… · b. 1981
G'Angelo HancockAmerican Greco-Roman wrestler · b. 1997
Chase HeadleyBaseball third baseman · b. 1984
Morgan FoxAmerican football player · b. 1994
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Security-WidefieldIts storyDStratmoorIts storyDFort CarsonIts storyDColorado Springs64 historic placesB

Questions about Fountain’s history

What year was Fountain founded?

In 1859, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fountain’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1880 counted 99 people here.

How does Fountain rank for history?

Fountain is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #68 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 Fountain?

One place: the Old Livery Stable (listed 1979).

How old are the homes in Fountain?

6% of Fountain’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 2000.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (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), 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.