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Olney Springs, Colorado aerial viewPhoto: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0
–Not graded
History · Olney Springs

Olney Springs’ post office opened in 1909, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1920.

1909first post office
0on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Olney Springs’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Olney Springs began

When was Olney Springs founded?

1909

The Olney Springs post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 240 in 19202020 census: 315117 years
Founding year: the first Olney Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Olney Springs’ past

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

On the map since 18913 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1981. Watch Olney Springs change.Old housesHalf of Olney Springs’ homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · On the map

Olney Springs on the map, 1891 to 1981

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

Olney Springs on the 1891 USGS mapOlney Springs on the 1954 USGS mapOlney Springs on the 1981 USGS map1891Catlin sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Olney Springs came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Olney Springs.

Read it all →

A post office called Olney Springs has been in operation since 1909. The town was named after one Mr. Olney, a railroad official.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Olney Springs, 1891 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1909Post officeThe Olney Springs post office opens
  5. 1936In the archiveAG 274-50 - DPLA - d3942cd456a92e19c4b49064d33dad20
By decade

Olney Springs, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s7 items
AG 274-50 - DPLA - d3942cd456a92e19c4b49064d33dad201936AG 274-50 - DPLA - d3942cd456a92e19c4b49064d33dad20AG 274-52 - DPLA - ed289ad404fac3b5921c4a0aa7003ab01936AG 274-52 - DPLA - ed289ad404fac3b5921c4a0aa7003ab0AG 274-53 - DPLA - ee77968ed99b81db712fea289d33672a1936AG 274-53 - DPLA - ee77968ed99b81db712fea289d33672aAG 274-55 - DPLA - a8054af7500c67f4bef77bc0058486a61936AG 274-55 - DPLA - a8054af7500c67f4bef77bc0058486a6AG 274-57 - DPLA - 5082203f0fe69919cb9d24db2d753c911936AG 274-57 - DPLA - 5082203f0fe69919cb9d24db2d753c91AG 274-65 - DPLA - b668e14975e8a46b07cbd8202d3de52e1936AG 274-65 - DPLA - b668e14975e8a46b07cbd8202d3de52eAG 274-67 - DPLA - fdf0a5b6b1233e26889ec299b6528cb21936AG 274-67 - DPLA - fdf0a5b6b1233e26889ec299b6528cb2
1940s–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
Date unknown2 to date
AG 274-69 - DPLA - d3987776ebdb6e12e7fe9c6149ceb580Date?AG 274-69 - DPLA - d3987776ebdb6e12e7fe9c6149ceb580AG 274-71 - DPLA - fe84fef7eee88d16c0d57f682e9f5f04Date?AG 274-71 - DPLA - fe84fef7eee88d16c0d57f682e9f5f04
Today3 recent
Olney Springs, Colorado aerial view2023Olney Springs, Colorado aerial viewOlney Springs, Colorado2017Olney Springs, ColoradoCrowley County Correctional Facility2017Crowley County Correctional Facility
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.

AG 274-50 - DPLA - d3942cd456a92e19c4b49064d33dad20
Retake this viewAG 274-50 - DPLA - d3942cd456a92e19c4b49064d33dad20, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Olney Springs, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 389

Between 228 and 389 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Olney Springs

Nobody well known was born in Olney Springs itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Ken KeseyAmerican novelist · b. 1935
Linda SmithAmerican politician · b. 1950
John David VanderhoofRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1922
P
Paul GebhardAmerican anthropologist and sexologist · b. 1917
W
William Charles AndersonUnited States Air Force officer and author · b. 1920
E
Everett MarshallAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1905
Help out

Finish Olney Springs’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewAG 274-50 - DPLA - d3942cd456a92e19c4b4…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Olney Springs’ history

What year was Olney Springs founded?

The Olney Springs post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (12), 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.