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History · Kit Carson

Kit Carson dates to 1838, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1940.

1838founded
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kit Carson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kit Carson began

When was Kit Carson founded?

1838

Kit Carson dates its founding to 1838 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 333 in 19402020 census: 255188 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1869.The full story ↓

What stands out about Kit Carson’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1838: 188 years of Kit Carson.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kit Carson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kit Carson’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 viewColorado [Adams County - Las Animas Cou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Kit Carson, 1838 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838
    FoundingKit Carson is established
  3. 1869Post officeThe Kit Carson post office opens
  4. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1940In the archiveColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
The story

How Kit Carson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kit Carson.

Read it all →

The town was established in 1838 and was named in honor of frontiersman Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson.

Located near the site where Carson traded with the Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indians on the Eastern Plains, the town developed into a regional trade and supply outpost and served as an important hub for the Union Pacific railroad. By the 1870s, it was one of the largest shipping points for cattle between Denver and Kansas City.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Kit Carson, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s2 items
Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
1950s–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
Today10 recent
Kit Carson, CO2026Kit Carson, COThe old Wild Horse Mercantile building2016The old Wild Horse Mercantile buildingMetal art and agricultural equipment displayed across from the town museum2016Metal art and agricultural equipment displayed across…Downtown Kit Carson, a town named for the legendary western scout, in Cheyenne County, Colorado2016Downtown Kit Carson, a town named for the legendary w…Kit Carson, Colorado2013Kit Carson, ColoradoKit Carson, Colorado2012Kit Carson, ColoradoKit Carson, Colorado2012Kit Carson, ColoradoKit Carson, Colorado2006Kit Carson, ColoradoKit Carson, Colorado2006Kit Carson, ColoradoCOMap-doton-KitCarson2005COMap-doton-KitCarson
On the map

Kit Carson on the map, 1891 to 1982

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

Kit Carson on the 1891 USGS mapKit Carson on the 1982 USGS map1891Kit Carson 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 Kit Carson.

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.

Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
Retake this viewColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)], 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Kit Carson, census by census

010020030040019401960198020002020Peak: 379

Between 220 and 379 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Kit Carson

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

See all →
N
Nellie M. PayneAmerican entomologist and agricultural chemist · b. 1900
T
Thaine MorrisAmerican special and visual effects artist

Questions about Kit Carson’s history

What year was Kit Carson founded?

In 1838, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kit Carson’s post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1940 counted 333 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 (9), 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) 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.