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Garden City, ColoradoPhoto: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0
–Not graded
History · Garden City

Garden City dates to 1935, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1940.

1935founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Garden City began

When was Garden City founded?

1935

Garden City dates its founding to 1935 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 87 in 19402020 census: 25491 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Garden City’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 Garden City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1970 and 1980, then more than doubled.Old housesHalf of Garden City’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Garden City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Garden City’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
People over time

Garden City, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020142 in 1970Low: 85

Lost a third of its people between 1970 and 1980, then more than doubled.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

The story

How Garden City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Garden City.

Read it all →

Garden City was founded on August 2, 1938, as a base for saloons and liquor stores serving residents of nearby Greeley, Colorado, which was then a Dry City. Shortly after the repeal of Prohibition in the United States, in June 1935, Greeley voters, by a majority of 356 votes, voted in the local option election to make Greeley "dry" and prohibit the sale, manufacture, transportation, or possession of liquor in the city limits of Greeley. The morning following the election, two Greeley liquor stores were closed by the Chief of Police. The Greeley Tribune published several articles about a Wet Town incorporating Greeley's southern edge.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Garden City, 1935 to 2000

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1935
    FoundingGarden City is established
  3. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 21st century
  5. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 357
By decade

Garden City, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Garden City, Colorado2015Garden City, Colorado
On the map

Garden City on the map, 1950 to 1980

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

Garden City on the 1950 USGS mapGarden City on the 1969 USGS mapGarden City on the 1980 USGS map1950Greeley 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 Garden City.

Famous people

Famous people close to Garden City

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

See all →
Kristen SchaalAmerican actress · b. 1978
Jake LloydAmerican actor · b. 1989
Vance D. BrandTest pilot and NASA astronaut · b. 1931
Jack ReynorIrish actor · b. 1992
Jon HederAmerican actor · b. 1977
R
Ross MarquandAmerican actor · b. 1981
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Greeley16 historic placesB−

Questions about Garden City’s history

What year was Garden City founded?

In 1935, according to Wikidata. the census of 1940 counted 87 people here.

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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.