History · Rifle

Rifle dates to 1882, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #48 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Rifle Bridge and the US Post Office-Rifle Main. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1900.

1882founded

2on the National Register

11%homes built before 1940

5old photos & papers

5famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Rifle’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Rifle began

When was Rifle founded?

1882

Rifle dates its founding to 1882 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 273 in 19002020 census: 10,437144 years

How historic is Rifle?

B⁻

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Rifle’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rifle is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #48 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rifle’s overall grade.

Founding era1882, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194010.5% of homes (±4.3) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National Register2 listings, 1.9 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4B

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%

NewerOlder

Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 70%

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 Rifle’s 1.9 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 2 listings 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 (±4.3 points). Two sources give 1882.

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 →

The story

How Rifle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rifle.

Read it all →

In 1878, Nathan Meeker was appointed as the director of the White River Ute Agency (the town of Meeker 40 miles north of Rifle was named after him). Meeker had no training or knowledge of Ute culture, and launched into a campaign centered on sedentary agriculture and European-American schooling. As this clashed with the culture of the nomadic Utes, he was met with resistance. It all came to a head when Meeker had the pasture and racetrack for the Ute's horses plowed under. The event that followed is known as the Meeker Massacre in 1879, during which Meeker and his 10 employees were killed. The aftermath of the conflict resulted in nearly all members of the Ute nation being forcibly removed from Colorado into eastern Utah, although the federal government had formerly guaranteed them the land on which they were residing.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rifle, 1882 to 1996

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

19th century
1882
FoundingRifle is established
1884Post officeThe Rifle post office opens
20th century
1905In the archiveSinging "There is sunshine on the soul"
1909BuiltRifle Bridge is built
1916Born hereRobert Winslow is born here
1940BuiltUS Post Office-Rifle Main is built
1940In the archiveColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
1945Born hereLeslie Nutting is born here
1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1969Born hereDavid L. Bernhardt is born here
1996Born hereBo Nickal is born here

By decade

Rifle, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item

1905Singing "There is sunshine on the soul"

1910s–1930snothing 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

1940s4 items

1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]

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

On the map

Rifle on the map, 1952 to 1982

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

1952Rifle 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 Rifle.

Every building

Rifle, building by building, 1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

1914Sheet 1 of 2

Sheets

+1 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Retake this viewSinging "There is sunshine on the soul", 1905

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

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

2 historic places in Rifle

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1985

Rifle Bridge

BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Pennsylvania and Parker through truss1

Colonial Revival1

Rifle BridgePennsylvania and Parker through truss · Built 1909

US Post Office-Rifle MainColonial Revival · Built 1940

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Rifle, census by census

Grew from 273 people in 1900 to 10,437 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Rifle

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

David L. Bernhardt53rd United States Secretary of the Interior · b. 1969

Bo NickalAmerican wrestler · b. 1996

Robert WinslowAmerican football player and coach · b. 1916

Leslie NuttingAmerican politician in Wyoming · b. 1945

Russell GeorgeAmerican politician · b. 1946

Help out

Finish Rifle’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewSinging "There is sunshine on the soul": stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Rifle’s history

What year was Rifle founded?

In 1882, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Rifle’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1900 counted 273 people here.

How does Rifle rank for history?

Rifle is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #48 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 Rifle?

Two places: the Rifle Bridge (listed 1985) and the US Post Office-Rifle Main (1986).

How old are the homes in Rifle?

11% of Rifle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1991.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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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