Most of Poncha Springs was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Its Register listings are the Poncha Springs Schoolhouse and the Hutchinson Ranch. Below: maps from 1956 on.
The Poncha Springs post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Poncho Springs (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 925102 years
How historic is Poncha Springs?
C
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Poncha Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Poncha Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Poncha Springs is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Poncha Springs’ 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 Poncha Springs’ 52.1 sits above most of its state (88% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Poncha Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1779, Juan Bautista de Anza led a military expedition over Poncha Pass, about 6 miles (10 km) south of the present-day town's location. Before that, the Ute people used the area as camping grounds during the winter months. Following the Spanish exploration, French trappers and fur traders moved in. In 1855, Colonel Thomas T. Fauntleroy and the 1st Cavalry Regiment marched over Poncha Pass and engaged a group of Utes between present day Salida and Poncha Springs as part of the Ute Wars.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Poncha Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Poncha Springs sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Poncha Springs.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Poncha Springs
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Poncha Springs’s post office has been open since 1924. Another post office, Poncho Springs, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Poncho Springs
1877–1924
Poncha Springs
1924–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Salida Airportairport
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Poncha Springs’ history
What year was Poncha Springs founded?
The Poncha Springs post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Poncha Springs rank for history?
Poncha Springs 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.
What is on the National Register in Poncha Springs?
Two places: the Poncha Springs Schoolhouse (listed 1990) and the Hutchinson Ranch (1973).
How old are the homes in Poncha Springs?
3% of Poncha Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 2006.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
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