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

Idledale’s post office opened in 1930, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts. Below: maps from 1957 on.

1930first post office
2on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Idledale began

When was Idledale founded?

1930

The Idledale post office opened in 1930, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Joylan (1918) and Starbuck (1920), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 24496 years
Founding year: the first Idledale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Idledale’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 Idledale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Idledale.Old housesHalf of Idledale’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Idledale’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Idledale’s post office has been open since 1930. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Joylan
1918–1920
Starbuck
1920–1930
Idledale
1930–today
19101970today

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

The story

How Idledale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Idledale.

Read it all →

Originally called "Starbuck Heights", the town was almost washed out by a storm in 1933. When it was rebuilt, the town became known as Idledale.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Idledale, 1918 to 1957

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1918Post officeThe Joylan post office opens
  3. 1920Post officeThe Joylan post office closes
  4. 1920Post officeThe Starbuck post office opens
  5. 1930Post officeThe Starbuck post office closes
  6. 1930Post officeThe Idledale post office opens
  7. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Idledale, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Site signage with old photos2020Site signage with old photosStarbuck Park2014Starbuck ParkIdledale, Colorado2014Idledale, ColoradoDrive from Evergreen to Denver-12011Drive from Evergreen to Denver-1
On the map

Idledale on the map, 1957 to 1980

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

Idledale on the 1957 USGS mapIdledale on the 1965 USGS mapIdledale on the 1971 USGS mapIdledale on the 1980 USGS map1957Morrison 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 Idledale.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Idledale

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Little Park
Starbuck Park
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Rustic2
Little ParkRustic
All 2 listings
Starbuck ParkDistrict · listed 1995

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Idledale

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

See all →
Ross LynchAmerican actor and singer · b. 1995
Chris BroderickAmerican guitarist · b. 1970
Dave GrusinAmerican composer, arranger, producer, and pian… · b. 1934
Mallory SwansonAmerican soccer player · b. 1998
Gregg HenryAmerican actor · b. 1952
S
Sheri S. TepperAmerican science fiction, horror and mystery no… · b. 1929

Questions about Idledale’s history

What year was Idledale founded?

The Idledale post office opened in 1930, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Idledale?

Two places: the Little Park (listed 1995) and the Starbuck Park (1995).

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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.