The story
Read it all →How Mead came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Mead.
A post office called Mead has been in operation since 1907. The town was named after Dr. Martin S. Mead, a pioneer settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Mead
Mead dates to 1906, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #98 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Mead was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Its Register listing is the United Church of Christ of Highlandlake. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1910.
1906founded
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Quick answers
How Mead began
When was Mead founded?
1906
Mead dates its founding to 1906 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 114 in 19102020 census: 4,781120 years
How historic is Mead?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1907.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mead’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mead is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #98 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mead’s overall grade.
Founding era1906, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.5% of homes (±3.1) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 1.7 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 39%
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 Mead’s 1.7 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). Two sources give 1906.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Mead’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Mead’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mead’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Mead, 1906 to 1998
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 20th century
- 1906FoundingMead is established
- 1907Post officeThe Mead post office opens
- 1949
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1989Born hereGabriel Knapton is born here
- 1998
Born hereRachel Crow is born here
By decade
Mead, decade by decade
2019
2017
2012
2005On the map
Mead on the map, 1949 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mead. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1949Gowanda sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mead.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Mead
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
United Church of Christ of Highlandlake
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Vernacular Wood Frame1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Mead, census by census
Grew from 114 people in 1910 to 4,781 in 2020, more than tenfold.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mead’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Mead
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Old corners and places now gone
Mead’s post office has been open since 1907.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Maloy
Gone or out of use
Carrera AirparkairportHelmer Brothers Pitmine
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Mead’s history
What year was Mead founded?
In 1906, according to Wikidata. Mead’s post office opened in 1907, and the census of 1910 counted 114 people here.
How does Mead rank for history?
Mead is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #98 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 Mead?
One place: the United Church of Christ of Highlandlake (listed 1989).
How old are the homes in Mead?
3% of Mead’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 2006.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikidata (1), 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.