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History · Holly

Holly’s post office opened in 1880, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1900.

1880first post office
4on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Holly’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Holly began

When was Holly founded?

1880

The Holly post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 364 in 19002020 census: 837146 years
Founding year: the first Holly post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Holly’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18903 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1984. Watch Holly change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,236 in 1950; 837 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Holly’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBirdseye view of Holly, Colo: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Holly on the map, 1890 to 1984

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

Holly on the 1890 USGS mapHolly on the 1953 USGS mapHolly on the 1984 USGS map1890Granada 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 Holly.

People over time

Holly, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,236

Peaked at 1,236 in 1950; 837 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Holly came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Holly.

Read it all →

Holly was settled as a ranching community, and the town was incorporated in 1903. The town was named for Hiram S. Holly, a local cattleman. Hiram S. Holly moved to the town in 1871, and brought 1,300 cattle with him. Holly's ranch, the SS Ranch or Double S Ranch, was the first settlement in the area. The Holly SS Ranch Barn, a stone barn built in 1879, survives and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The original stone ranch house also survives, nearby, but is not listed.

ChaptersEarly historyHolly Sugar2007 Holly tornado2011 Jensen Farms listeriosis outbreak

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Holly, 1879 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879BuiltHolly SS Ranch Barn is built
  3. 1880Post officeThe Holly post office opens
  4. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909In the archiveBirdseye view of Holly, Colo
  7. 1936In the archiveAG 287-19 - DPLA - 5b0e2832f27aff9af20ad60672ede777
  8. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,236
By decade

Holly, decade by decade

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

1900s–1930s3 items
Birdseye view of Holly, Colo1909Birdseye view of Holly, ColoAG 287-19 - DPLA - 5b0e2832f27aff9af20ad60672ede7771936AG 287-19 - DPLA - 5b0e2832f27aff9af20ad60672ede777AG 287-21 - DPLA - f2efd27756887652ac65e7985ecae61e1936AG 287-21 - DPLA - f2efd27756887652ac65e7985ecae61e
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
Today8 recent
Looking north on Main Street in the town of Holly, near the Kansas line in Prowers County, Colorado2015Looking north on Main Street in the town of Holly, ne…Gateway Downs Racetrack in the town of Holly, near the Kansas line in Prowers County, Colorado2015Gateway Downs Racetrack in the town of Holly, near th…Holly Gymnasium2013Holly GymnasiumHolly City Hall2013Holly City HallHolly, CO, welcome sign IMG 57952010Holly, CO, welcome sign IMG 5795Holly, CO, spruce tree IMG 57972010Holly, CO, spruce tree IMG 5797First United Methodist Church in Holly, CO IMG 58022010First United Methodist Church in Holly, CO IMG 5802First Christian Church, Holly, CO IMG 58002010First Christian Church, Holly, CO IMG 5800
Every building

Holly, building by building, 1905

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.

Holly fire insurance map, 1905, sheet 11905Sheet 1 of 2
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.

Birdseye view of Holly, Colo
Retake this viewBirdseye view of Holly, Colo, 1909

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Holly

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Holly Santa Fe Depot
Holly Santa Fe DepotHolly City HallHolly SS Ranch Barn, built 1879Holly Gymnasium
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Mission1
Spanish Colonial Revival1
Modern Movement1
Gable Roofed Stone Barn1
WPA Modernist1
Holly Santa Fe DepotMission
Holly City HallModern Movement
Holly SS Ranch BarnGable Roofed Stone Barn · Built 1879
Holly GymnasiumWPA Modernist

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Holly

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

See all →
Ken CurtisAmerican actor and singer · b. 1916
G
Gene MilfordAmerican film editor · b. 1902
Wayne R. GrishamRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1923
Raymond O. BartonUnited States general · b. 1889
C
Curt GentryAmerican historian · b. 1931

Questions about Holly’s history

What year was Holly founded?

The Holly post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Holly?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Holly Santa Fe Depot (listed 1995, the first).

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 (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.