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History · Paoli

Paoli’s post office opened in 1888, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1971 on, and the census since 1940.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Paoli began

When was Paoli founded?

1888

The Paoli post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 85 in 19402020 census: 51138 years
Founding year: the first Paoli post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Paoli’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Paoli’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paoli’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paoli’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 viewColorado - Golden through: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Paoli, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Paoli yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Paoli is a statutory town in Phillips County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 51.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 34 to 51 (+50%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Paoli, 1888 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Paoli post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1943In the archiveColorado - Golden through
  5. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Paoli, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
Colorado - Golden through1943Colorado - Golden through
1950s–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
Today1 recent
Paoli, Colorado2013Paoli, Colorado
On the map

Paoli on the map, 1971 to 1983

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

Paoli on the 1971 USGS mapPaoli on the 1983 USGS map1971Paoli 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 Paoli.

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.

Colorado - Golden through
Retake this viewColorado - Golden through, 1943

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Paoli, census by census

010019401960198020002020Peak: 91

Between 29 and 91 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Questions about Paoli’s history

What year was Paoli founded?

The Paoli post office opened in 1888, 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 (2), 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.