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History · Minturn

Minturn’s post office opened in 1889, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1934 on, and the census since 1910.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Minturn’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Minturn began

When was Minturn founded?

1889

The Minturn post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1904.

First census: 241 in 19102020 census: 1,033137 years
Founding year: the first Minturn post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1904.The full story ↓

What stands out about Minturn’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Minturn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Minturn’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRoundhouse Crash 1913: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Minturn came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Minturn.

Read it all →

The town is named for Robert Bowne Minturn, Jr., who was vice president of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad that founded the town. He was also a member of Grinnell, Minturn & Co.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Minturn, 1889 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Minturn post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1913In the archiveRoundhouse Crash 1913
  5. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1995In the archiveTop of the Rockies - Shops in
By decade

Minturn, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Roundhouse Crash 19131913Roundhouse Crash 1913
1920s–1980snothing 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
1990s2 items
Top of the Rockies - Shops in1995Top of the Rockies - Shops inTop of the Rockies - Slow Day at1995Top of the Rockies - Slow Day at
Today15 recent
Pine Street in2020Pine Street inMinturn, Colorado town hall2020Minturn, Colorado town hallMinturn Formation2020Minturn FormationEagle River at Minturn–22020Eagle River at Minturn–2Eagle River at2020Eagle River atVintage car, truck, and other stuff at the Battle Mountain Trading Post, an antiques and collectibles store2016Vintage car, truck, and other stuff at the Battle Mou…A well-used truck stands in front of the Battle Mountain Trading Post2016A well-used truck stands in front of the Battle Mount…Lionshead Rock Trail2013Lionshead Rock TrailMinturn Summer Market2012Minturn Summer MarketTown of2011Town ofMinturn Water tank2011Minturn Water tankHotel2011HotelDSCN3041 minturntrailers e 6002005DSCN3041 minturntrailers e 600DSCN3040 downtownminturn e 6002005DSCN3040 downtownminturn e 600DSCN3039 minturnstudios e 6002005DSCN3039 minturnstudios e 600
On the map

Minturn on the map, 1934 to 1987

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

Minturn on the 1934 USGS mapMinturn on the 1950 USGS mapMinturn on the 1970 USGS mapMinturn on the 1987 USGS map1934Minturn sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Minturn.

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.

Roundhouse Crash 1913
Retake this viewRoundhouse Crash 1913, 1913

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Minturn, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,068

Between 241 and 1,068 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Minturn’s post office has been open since 1889.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Astor CityBelden
Gone or out of use
Liberty MinemineOvee-Silurian Minemine
1cemetery inside Minturn
River View

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.

Red Cliff1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Minturn’s history

What year was Minturn founded?

The Minturn post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1904.

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 (16), the Library of Congress (2), 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.