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CHistory
History · Monument

Monument’s post office opened in 1869, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #79 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

Most of Monument was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Its Register listing is the Lewis, Inez Johnson, School. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1880.

1869first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Monument began

When was Monument founded?

1869

The Monument post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 125 in 18802020 census: 10,399157 years

How historic is Monument?

C

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Monument post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Monument’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monument is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #79 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monument’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.7% of homes (±2.4) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 0.9 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 26%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 51%

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 Monument’s 0.9 sits near the middle of its state (49% 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 C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. 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 Monument’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Monument are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Monument’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Monument, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020192 in 1920Low: 126

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Monument came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Monument.

Read it all →

Monument's first homesteaders arrived in 1865 to mark out the town's preliminary shape, but settlement increased when Monument became a stop along the Rio Grande Railroad in 1872. The area was incorporated as a town called Henry's Station, after prominent settler Henry Limbach, on June 2, 1879, and the first town meeting was held July 3, 1879. However, three years later the name was changed to Monument after Monument Creek and Monument Rock in the west. The first records of the town can be found in various volumes in the El Paso County Courthouse dating back to 1872. With the help of the railroad, which brought in necessities, people started small businesses and started to create a town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Monument in 1907

Passages that mention Monument, cut from the printed page as they were published.

From THE FRUITA INTERCHANGE on I-70, the overpass leads north into the town of Fruita, and Colorado Highway 340 leads south about 2% miles to the West Entrance of Colorado National Monument. One mile south we cross the new bridge over the Colorado River; the old bridge formerly connecting Fruita wi…
the geologic story of colorado national monument1907 · page 96Read the page →
Read the text

From THE FRUITA INTERCHANGE on I-70, the overpass leads north into the town of Fruita, and Colorado Highway 340 leads south about 2% miles to the West Entrance of Colorado National Monument. One mile south we cross the new bridge over the Colorado River; the old bridge formerly connecting Fruita with the Monument may be seen half a mile upstream. Just south of the new bridge we see sandstone on the left and green shale on the right, both part of the

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
the destruction caused by a devastating flood that roared down No Thoroughfare and other canyons on September 7, 1978, as a result of what was termed the worst cloudburst to hit Glade Park, the Monument, and the Grand Valley since 1958. A house on the flood plain just above the bridge was badly dam…
the geologic story of colorado national monument1907 · page 118Read the page →
Read the text

the destruction caused by a devastating flood that roared down No Thoroughfare and other canyons on September 7, 1978, as a result of what was termed the worst cloudburst to hit Glade Park, the Monument, and the Grand Valley since 1958. A house on the flood plain just above the bridge was badly damaged and was filled with 4 feet of mud, and the Monument Road bridge across No Thoroughfare Canyon nearest the intersection was washed out, necessitating the

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Monument, 1869 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Monument post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Born hereFrances McConnell-Mills is born here
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1984Born hereJenny Shakeshaft is born here
  7. 1987Born hereChris Salvaggione is born here
  8. 21st century
  9. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 10,399
By decade

Monument, decade by decade

Today30 recent
2024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 02020242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0202024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 01920242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0192024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 01820242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0182024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 01720242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0172024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 01620242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0162024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 01520242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0152024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 01420242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0142024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 01320242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0132024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 01220242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0122024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 01120242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0112024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 01020242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0102024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 00920242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0092024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 00820242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0082024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 00720242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0072024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 00620242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0062024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 00520242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0052024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 00420242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0042024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 00320242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0032024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 00220242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 0022024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 00120242024-04-25 Monument Colorado - 001St. Peter Catholic Church2023St. Peter Catholic ChurchNew Santa Fe Regional Trail2023New Santa Fe Regional TrailMount Herman (Colorado)2023Mount Herman (Colorado)Monument Fire truck, Monument, CO 2023-04-142023Monument Fire truck, Monument, CO 2023-04-142nd Street in20232nd Street inSTAY AT HOME, SAVE A LIFE virus sign, I-25 NB2020STAY AT HOME, SAVE A LIFE virus sign, I-25 NBRio Grande bridge, Monument City Limit sign2016Rio Grande bridge, Monument City Limit signMonument, Colorado Town Hall and Police Department2010Monument, Colorado Town Hall and Police DepartmentMonument welcome sign2010Monument welcome signCOMap-doton-Monument2005COMap-doton-Monument
On the map

Monument on the map, 1954 to 1986

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

Monument on the 1954 USGS mapMonument on the 1961 USGS mapMonument on the 1975 USGS mapMonument on the 1986 USGS map1954Monument 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 Monument.

Every building

Monument, building by building, 1895–1900

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Monument fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Monument

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
1988
Lewis, Inez Johnson, School
Lewis, Inez Johnson, School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival1
Lewis, Inez Johnson, SchoolMission/Spanish Colonial Revival

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Monument

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

See all →
Jenny ShakeshaftAmerican actress and model · b. 1984
F
Frances McConnell-MillsAmerican forensic physician · b. 1900
C
Chris SalvaggioneAmerican soccer player · b. 1987
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

WoodmoorIts storyD−GleneagleIts storyDPalmer Lake1 historic placeB−

Questions about Monument’s history

What year was Monument founded?

The Monument post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Monument rank for history?

Monument is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #79 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 Monument?

One place: the Lewis, Inez Johnson, School (listed 1988).

How old are the homes in Monument?

2% of Monument’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 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.

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 (30), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.