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History · Morrison

Morrison’s post office opened in 1873, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 86 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1938 on, and the census since 1880.

1873first post office
5on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Morrison’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Morrison began

When was Morrison founded?

1873

The Morrison post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 186 in 18802020 census: 396153 years
Founding year: the first Morrison post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Morrison’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1930, then more than doubled.A historic districtThe Morrison Historic District takes in 63 historic buildings.A National Historic Landmark5 places on the National Register, including Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Morrison’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewArthur Lakes illustration of Apatosauru…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Morrison, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020254 in 1890Low: 177

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1930, then more than doubled.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the National Register

5 listings protect 88 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmark
1
Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Cons…
historic buildings protected
88
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Morrison Schoolhouse
Morrison SchoolhouseMorrison Historic DistrictFort, The, built 1963
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Pueblo2
Victorian1
Vernacular1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals1
Morrison SchoolhouseBuilding
Morrison Historic DistrictVictorian
Red Rocks Park DistrictPueblo
Fort, TheLate 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals · Built 1963
All 5 listings
Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps CampPlace · listed 2015

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

The story

How Morrison came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Morrison.

Read it all →

This small foothills settlement is named after George Morrison (April 16, 1822 – June 11, 1895), a builder and businessman who left a mark not only on the town that now bears his name, but on the history of the area. A stonemason who immigrated from Canada to the Mt. Vernon area in 1859, he helped found the town of Mt. Vernon and built the Mt. Vernon House, seat of the territorial government under Robert Steele, and an important stop for travelers on the Mt. Vernon Toll Road from Denver to the goldfields of the Rocky Mountains. He became a U.S. citizen on May 22, 1862. George Morrison later moved south to Bear Creek, where he founded the Morrison Stone, Lime, and Town Co., and in 1874 platted the town that became known as Morrison, or briefly as Mt. Morrison. With Gov. John Evans, he was instrumental in bringing the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad to Morrison in 1874.

ChaptersDinosaur discoveries20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Morrison, 1873 to 2015

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Morrison post office opens
  3. 1877In the archiveArthur Lakes illustration of Apatosaurus ajax and Atlantosaurus montanus at
  4. 1878Born hereChick Morrison is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1938On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1944Born hereJim Suttle is born here
  8. 1963BuiltFort, The is built
  9. 1980In the archiveRed Rocks Amphitheater above Denver, Colorado
  10. 1980Born hereRicky Rahne is born here
  11. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 478
  12. 21st century
  13. 2015LandmarkRed Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp named a National Histo…
By decade

Morrison, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s3 items
Arthur Lakes illustration of Apatosaurus ajax and Atlantosaurus montanus at1877Arthur Lakes illustration of Apatosaurus ajax and Atl…Morrison Colorado 1878c. 1878Morrison Colorado 1878Morrison (South Park RR)1878Morrison (South Park RR)
1980s1 item
Red Rocks Amphitheater above Denver, Colorado1980Red Rocks Amphitheater above Denver, Colorado
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
Today14 recent
Composition ethnique de la population de Morrison (Colorado)2010Composition ethnique de la population de Morrison (Co…Composition dela population de Morrison (Colorado)2010Composition dela population de Morrison (Colorado)Chutes de neige - Morrison (Colorado)2010Chutes de neige - Morrison (Colorado)US285NBCOMM2472009US285NBCOMM247MorrisonTablet2009MorrisonTabletMorrison Community Church2009Morrison Community ChurchGoing up Turkey Creek Canyon, US 285 southbound2009Going up Turkey Creek Canyon, US 285 southboundCliffHouseLodgeHotTubCottages2009CliffHouseLodgeHotTubCottagesBCTC470WtrailunderC470bridge2009BCTC470WtrailunderC470bridgeWelcome2Morrison2008Welcome2MorrisonConMor22008ConMor2ConMor2008ConMorLariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway - Historic Downtown2007Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway - Historic Down…COMap-doton-Morrison2005COMap-doton-Morrison
On the map

Morrison on the map, 1938 to 1980

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

Morrison on the 1938 USGS mapMorrison on the 1942 USGS mapMorrison on the 1957 USGS mapMorrison on the 1965 USGS mapMorrison on the 1971 USGS mapMorrison on the 1980 USGS map1938Morrison 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 Morrison.

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.

Arthur Lakes illustration of Apatosaurus ajax and Atlantosaurus montanus at
Retake this viewArthur Lakes illustration of Apatosaurus ajax and Atlantosaurus montanus at, 1877

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Morrison

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

See all →
C
Chick MorrisonActor · b. 1878
Jim SuttleAmerican politician · b. 1944
R
Ricky RahneAmerican football coach · b. 1980
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Morrison’s post office has been open since 1873.

Gone or out of use
Bandimere PitmineBrannon Pit Number SeventeenmineCarbon Mountain PitmineMorrison QuarrymineStrainland 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.

Lakewood7 historic placesC+Indian HillsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Morrison’s history

What year was Morrison founded?

The Morrison post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Morrison?

5 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Morrison Schoolhouse (listed 1974, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Morrison Historic District and the Red Rocks Park District, with 86 contributing buildings. 88 historic buildings in all.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.