Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Manitou Springs

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
AHistory
History · Manitou Springs

Manitou Springs was first counted by the census in 1880, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #1 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

13 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 770 buildings between them. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1948 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
13on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Manitou Springs’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Manitou Springs began

When was Manitou Springs founded?

1880

Manitou Springs first appears in the census in 1880. Another post office, Manitou (1872), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 422 in 18802020 census: 4,858146 years

How historic is Manitou Springs?

A

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Manitou Springs’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manitou Springs is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #1 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manitou Springs’ overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194039.7% of homes (±7.1) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register13 listings, 780 historic buildings, 1,647 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)#1 of 159

Few Colorado towns list much on the Register (a typical Colorado town has 1.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Manitou Springs’ 1,647 sits above most of its state (100% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 780 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points).

Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Manitou Springs’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Manitou Springs Historic District takes in 752 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register13 places on the National Register.A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers, 1870–1913.Old housesHalf of Manitou Springs’ homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

13 listings protect 780 historic buildings

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

places listed
13
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
780
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Briarhurst
BriarhurstMiramont, built 1895Manitou BathhouseBarker HouseFirst Congregational ChurchCliff HouseWheeler BankCrystal Valley CemeteryKeithley Log Cabin Development DistrictManitou Springs Historic DistrictBridge over Fountain CreekManitou Springs Bridges (2)US Post Office-Manitou Springs Main
BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructures

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne2
Gothic Revival1
Medieval1
Moorish1
English Tudor1
Mission Style1
BriarhurstGothic Revival
MiramontMedieval · Built 1895
Manitou BathhouseMission Style
Barker HouseBuilding
First Congregational ChurchGothic
Cliff HouseQueen Anne
Wheeler BankRomanesque Revival
Crystal Valley CemeteryEgyptian Revival
All 13 listings
Keithley Log Cabin Development DistrictDistrict · listed 1982Manitou Springs Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983Bridge over Fountain CreekStructure · listed 1985Manitou Springs Bridges (2)Structure · listed 1985US Post Office-Manitou Springs MainBuilding · listed 1986

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

By decade

Manitou Springs, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1880s8 items
Soda spring, Manitou. El Paso County, Colorado1870Soda spring, Manitou. El Paso County, ColoradoColorado Springs, January 1874; Colorado City and Manitou 1871, El Paso Co., Colorado - DPLA - 38546d9b936aa664f9f8e208…1874Colorado Springs, January 1874; Colorado City and Man…Soda Spring & Cliff House1878Soda Spring & Cliff HouseManitou, Pike's Peak in distance1881Manitou, Pike's Peak in distancePanoramic bird's eye view of Colorado Springs, Colorado City and Manitou, Colo. 1882. - DPLA - 89ca8e353082012788cfde16…1882Panoramic bird's eye view of Colorado Springs, Colora…Panoramic bird's eye view of Colorado Springs, Colorado City and Manitou, Colo. 18821882Panoramic bird's eye view of Colorado Springs, Colora…Landschap met trein nabij Manitou Springs On the rapid transit railway near Manitou (titel op object), RP-F-2001-7-899-…c. 1888Landschap met trein nabij Manitou Springs On the rapi…Landschap met trein nabij Manitou Springs On the rapid transit railway near Manitou (titel op object), RP-F-2001-7-899-…c. 1888Landschap met trein nabij Manitou Springs On the rapi…
1890s–1900s6 items
Iron Springs Hotel, Spring, and Curio Shoppe1890Iron Springs Hotel, Spring, and Curio ShoppeManitou, Colorado1900Manitou, ColoradoRainbow Falls in the Ute Pass, Manitou, Colo1900Rainbow Falls in the Ute Pass, Manitou, ColoRainbow Falls in Ute Pass, Manitou, Col1901Rainbow Falls in Ute Pass, Manitou, ColManitou Springs, Colorado, 19021902Manitou Springs, Colorado, 1902Ruins of cliff dwellings, Colorado1908Ruins of cliff dwellings, Colorado
1910s1 item
Manitou, Colo1913Manitou, Colo
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
The story

How Manitou Springs came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Manitou Springs.

Read it all →

General William Jackson Palmer and Dr. William Abraham Bell founded Manitou Springs in 1872, intending the town to be a "scenic health resort". Bell's home, Briarhurst Manor, is open to the public as a fine dining restaurant, which is listed on the National Register of Historic places. In 1876, the town was incorporated. "Manitou Springs has been the quintessential tourist town since the 1870s, when visitors discovered the healing waters the Ute Indians had been drinking for years. Many of the town's mineral springs still function today and the water is free."

ChaptersHistoric districtWaldo Canyon fireWaldo Canyon flash flood

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Manitou Springs, 1870 to 1948

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870In the archiveSoda spring, Manitou. El Paso County, Colorado
  3. 1872Post officeThe Manitou post office opens
  4. 1881In the archiveManitou, Pike's Peak in distance
  5. 1885Post officeThe Manitou Springs post office opens
  6. 1890In the archiveIron Springs Hotel, Spring, and Curio Shoppe
  7. 1895BuiltMiramont is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900In the archiveManitou, Colorado
  10. 1913In the archiveManitou, Colo
  11. 1936Post officeThe Manitou post office closes
  12. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Manitou Springs on the map, 1948 to 1994

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

Manitou Springs on the 1948 USGS mapManitou Springs on the 1950 USGS mapManitou Springs on the 1961 USGS mapManitou Springs on the 1975 USGS mapManitou Springs on the 1994 USGS map1948Manitou Springs 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 Manitou Springs.

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.

Soda spring, Manitou. El Paso County, Colorado
Retake this viewSoda spring, Manitou. El Paso County, Colorado, 1870

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Manitou Springs, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,992

Between 422 and 4,992 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Manitou Springs’s post office has been open since 1885. Another post office, Manitou, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Manitou
1872–1936
Manitou Springs
1885–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside Manitou Springs
Crystal Valley

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

Help out

Finish Manitou Springs’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSoda spring, Manitou. El Paso County, C…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Colorado Springs64 historic placesB

Questions about Manitou Springs’ history

What year was Manitou Springs founded?

The Manitou Springs post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1888.

How does Manitou Springs rank for history?

Manitou Springs is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #1 of 159 in Colorado. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Manitou Springs?

13 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Briarhurst (listed 1973, the first), 2 historic districts, the Keithley Log Cabin Development District and the Manitou Springs Historic District, with 770 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures. 780 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Manitou Springs?

40% of Manitou Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1954.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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.