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History · Larkspur

Larkspur’s post office opened in 1871, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1980.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Larkspur’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Larkspur began

When was Larkspur founded?

1871

The Larkspur post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 141 in 19802020 census: 206155 years
Founding year: the first Larkspur post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Larkspur’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Larkspur’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Larkspur’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 viewLuther C. Phifer on His Cattle Ranch: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Larkspur came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Larkspur.

Read it all →

According to William Bright, the town was named for the plains larkspur (Delphinium geyeri).

A post office called Larkspur has been in operation since 1871. The community was named for the abundance of larkspur near the original town site.

Larkspur is also the site of the historic headquarters building of Universal Co-Masonry According to the town's website, Larkspur's Vision Statement is "Larkspur, a small friendly town in Colorado. A town that works together by: Fostering a Government of Integrity that Responds to its People, Directing Future Growth within Larkspur´s Small Town Values, Providing Community Facilities and Activities for All Ages, and Preserving the Natural Environment that is Unique to the Larkspur Area."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Larkspur, 1871 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Larkspur post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1915In the archiveLuther C. Phifer on His Cattle Ranch
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1996Born hereCale Morris is born here
  7. 1997Born hereTristan Klewsaat is born here
By decade

Larkspur, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Luther C. Phifer on His Cattle Ranch1915Luther C. Phifer on His Cattle Ranch
1920s–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
Today11 recent
Larkspur Veterans Monument2025Larkspur Veterans MonumentI-25 Southbound - Larkspur Chain Station-Brake Check 2025-09-082025I-25 Southbound - Larkspur Chain Station-Brake Check …BNSF Police near2022BNSF Police nearA green and the winding cart trail at the Golf Club at Bear Dance, a bucolic public golf club spread over several woode…2015A green and the winding cart trail at the Golf Club a…A teeing ground and complex fairway at the Golf Club at Bear Dance, a bucolic public golf club spread over several wood…2015A teeing ground and complex fairway at the Golf Club …An 1874 log cabin, the last remaining structure of the Huntsville settlement in Douglas County, Colorado, near Larkspur2015An 1874 log cabin, the last remaining structure of th…FPV OSD2013FPV OSDLarkspur, Colorado2012Larkspur, ColoradoYogi at JellyStone Park, CO2011Yogi at JellyStone Park, COA Nymph Playing With a Banana2008A Nymph Playing With a BananaCOMap-doton-Larkspur2005COMap-doton-Larkspur
On the map

Larkspur on the map, 1954 to 1994

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

Larkspur on the 1954 USGS mapLarkspur on the 1969 USGS mapLarkspur on the 1979 USGS mapLarkspur on the 1994 USGS map1954Larkspur 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 Larkspur.

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.

Luther C. Phifer on His Cattle Ranch
Retake this viewLuther C. Phifer on His Cattle Ranch, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 7 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1998
American Federation of Human Rights Headquarters
American Federation of Human Rights Headquarters
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Foursquare1
Classic Cottage1
American Federation of Human Rights HeadquartersLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements

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

People over time

Larkspur, census by census

0100200198020002020Peak: 234

Between 141 and 234 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Larkspur

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Cale MorrisAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1996
T
Tristan KlewsaatAmerican floorball player · b. 1997

Questions about Larkspur’s history

What year was Larkspur founded?

The Larkspur post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Larkspur?

One place: the American Federation of Human Rights Headquarters (listed 1998).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.