The story
Read it all →How Pierce came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Pierce.
A post office called Pierce has been in operation since 1903. The town was named after John Pierce, a railroad official.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · Pierce
Pierce dates to 1869, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1920.
1869founded
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Pierce began
When was Pierce founded?
1869
Pierce dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.
First census: 327 in 19202020 census: 1,097157 years
How historic is Pierce?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1903.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pierce’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pierce is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pierce’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194011.8% of homes (±6.5) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CO town 1.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 30%
NewerOlder
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 Pierce’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1869.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Pierce’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Pierce’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pierce’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Pierce on the map, 1908 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pierce. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Eaton sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pierce.
Timeline
Pierce, 1869 to 1908
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1869FoundingPierce is established
- 20th century
- 1903Post officeThe Pierce post office opens
- 1908
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Pierce, decade by decade
2014
2005
2005People over time
Pierce, census by census
Grew from 327 people in 1920 to 1,097 in 2020, 3 times over.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pierce’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Pierce
Nobody well known was born in Pierce itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Pierce’s history
What year was Pierce founded?
In 1869, according to Wikidata. Pierce’s post office opened in 1903, and the census of 1920 counted 327 people here.
How does Pierce rank for history?
Pierce is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Pierce?
12% of Pierce’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1990.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), 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.