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B−History
History · Fowler

Fowler’s post office opened in 1890, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1910.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Fowler began

When was Fowler founded?

1890

The Fowler post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 925 in 19102020 census: 1,253136 years

How historic is Fowler?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Fowler’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fowler is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fowler’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194031.7% of homes (±9.2) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational 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 48%
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 Fowler’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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.2 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 Fowler’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Fowler are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Fowler’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fowler’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Fowler came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fowler.

Read it all →

Fowler was established as a railroad station on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The town was originally named Oxford, for a large ox that was killed when crossing the railroad tracks. The Oxford, Colorado, post office opened on April 27, 1882, but the name was changed to Fowler on September 6, 1890. Fowler was named for Orson Squire Fowler, a phrenologist who founded the town. The Town of Fowler was incorporated on August 25, 1900.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Fowler, decade by decade

Today14 recent
Fowler, Colorado city limit sign2023Fowler, Colorado city limit signArkansas River Fowler CO aerial2019Arkansas River Fowler CO aerialA long, passing freight train near Fowler in rural Otero County, Colorado2015A long, passing freight train near Fowler in rural Ot…Main Street2015Main StreetMain Street2015Main StreetMain Street in2015Main Street inMain Street in2015Main Street inFowler, CO, welcome sign IMG 56352010Fowler, CO, welcome sign IMG 5635Fowler, CO, State Bank IMG 56412010Fowler, CO, State Bank IMG 5641Fowler, CO, Historical Society IMG 56392010Fowler, CO, Historical Society IMG 5639Fowler, CO, Fire Dept. and City Hall IMG 56442010Fowler, CO, Fire Dept. and City Hall IMG 5644First Methodist Church, Fowler, CO IMG 56402010First Methodist Church, Fowler, CO IMG 5640Cowboy Up Western Wear, Fowler, CO IMG 56362010Cowboy Up Western Wear, Fowler, CO IMG 5636COMap-doton-Fowler2005COMap-doton-Fowler
On the map

Fowler on the map, 1891 to 1981

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

Fowler on the 1891 USGS mapFowler on the 1981 USGS map1891Nepesta sheet · 1:125,000

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

Every building

Fowler, building by building, 1909–1917

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.

Fowler fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 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.

People over time

Fowler, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,253

Between 922 and 1,253 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Fowler’s history

What year was Fowler founded?

The Fowler post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Fowler rank for history?

Fowler is more historic than 48% 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 Fowler?

32% of Fowler’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1957.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (3), Wikipedia, 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.