Milliken’s post office opened in 1909, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #81 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Milliken was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Its Register listing is the Daniels School. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1920.
The Milliken post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hillsboro (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 372 in 19202020 census: 8,386117 years
How historic is Milliken?
C
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Milliken post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Milliken’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Milliken is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #81 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 Milliken’s overall grade.
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 Milliken’s 3.4 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Milliken’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first community located near the Milliken townsite was initially known as Hillsboro. The community began as a trading post on the Denver, Laramie, and Northwestern Railroad for agricultural goods in the 1860s. The Milliken, Colorado, post office opened on November 10, 1909, and the Town of Milliken was incorporated on October 1, 1910. In 1910, Milliken annexed nearby Hillsboro.
Fires in the 1910s destroyed much of the town, and in 1917 the Denver, Laramie, and Northwestern Railroad was abandoned.
Milliken was primarily a farming community through World War I, the Depression, and World War II. In the 1950s, two large potato decks were constructed. The late 1960s and early 1970s saw a housing boom.
The Milliken post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Milliken rank for history?
Milliken is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #81 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 Milliken?
One place: the Daniels School (listed 2005).
How old are the homes in Milliken?
5% of Milliken’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 2004.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2012
2005
