On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Palisade is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #58 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 Palisade’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 Palisade’s 7.7 sits above most of its state (69% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 points).
Founding year: the first census (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 →
The story so far
Palisade, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Palisade yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Palisade is a statutory town in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Grand Junction Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,565 at the 2020 census, down from 2,692 in 2010. The community was named for the cliffs near the town site. Palisade is known for its peach orchards and wine vineyards. The climate, a 182-day growing season, and an average 78 percent of sunshine makes Palisade "The Peach Capital of Colorado".
Its first post office opened in 1910. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,692 to 2,565 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Palisade, 1891 to 1962
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Palisade post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Palisade rank for history?
Palisade is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #58 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 Palisade?
One place: the Herbert and Edith Crissey House (listed 2003).
How old are the homes in Palisade?
15% of Palisade’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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.
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