The story
Read it all →How Rocky Ford came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Rocky Ford.
The community was named for a rocky ford across the Arkansas River near the original town site.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Rocky Ford
Rocky Ford’s post office opened in 1871, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #5 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1880.
1871first post office
5on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
10famous people
Quick answers
How Rocky Ford began
When was Rocky Ford founded?
1871
The Rocky Ford post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887.
First census: 47 in 18802020 census: 3,876155 years
How historic is Rocky Ford?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rocky Ford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rocky Ford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rocky Ford is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #5 of 159 in Colorado. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rocky Ford’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194035.2% of homes (±6.9) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register5 listings, 10 historic buildings, 26.2 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 97%
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 Rocky Ford’s 26.2 sits above most of its state (82% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1887 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Rocky Ford’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18914 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1981. Watch Rocky Ford change.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1919, drew every building in Rocky Ford.Old housesHalf of Rocky Ford’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Rocky Ford’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rocky Ford’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Rocky Ford on the map, 1891 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rocky Ford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Catlin 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 Rocky Ford.
Every building
Rocky Ford, building by building, 1895–1919
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 year, then a sheet.
1895Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Rocky Ford, 1915–1916
Passages that mention Rocky Ford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Sequel to the story of the salmon tint1916Read the page →
Read the text
Owing to the existence of several cantaloup growers’ associations being organized here at Rocky Ford, mail intended for the Cantaloup Seed Breeders Association should be addressed to James B. Ryan, Secretary, Rocky Ford, Colorado, to avoid delays.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Story of the salmon tint1915Read the page →
Read the text
Owing to the existence of several cantaloup growers’ associations being organized here at Rocky Ford, mail intended for the Cantaloup Seed Breeders’ Association should be addressed to James B. Ryan, Secretary, Rocky Ford, Colorado, to avoid delays.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Rocky Ford, 1871 to 1922
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1871Post officeThe Rocky Ford post office opens
- 1891
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1901
BuiltArt Building is built - 1904
In the archiveArriving (for) melon day, Rocky Ford, Colo - 1908
BuiltCarnegie Public Library is built - 1915
In the archiveMexicans. Beet workers and the shacks they live in near Rocky Ford, Colorado. See Hine Re… - 1917Born herePaul Gebhard is born here
- 1918
Born hereRobert Swink is born here - 1918Born hereBlaine Gibson is born here
- 1922
Born hereJohn David Vanderhoof is born here
By decade
Rocky Ford, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1900s–1910s4 items
![Arriving [for] melon day](https://images.townratings.com/story/1824/b6958b27a68ccddd0c1c-s.jpg)
1904
19051920s–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 albumThen & 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 viewArriving (for) melon day, Rocky Ford, Colo, 1904
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Rocky Ford’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
5 historic places in Rocky Ford
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Carnegie Public Library
BuildingsSites
Architectural styles listings
Classical Revival2
Octagon Mode1
Carnegie Public LibraryClassical Revival · Built 1908
Art BuildingOctagon Mode · Built 1901
Adobe Stables, Arkansas Valley FairgroundsBuilding
Rocky Ford Post OfficeClassical Revival
All 5 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Rocky Ford, census by census
Between 47 and 4,929 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rocky Ford’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →10 famous people were born in Rocky Ford
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
P
Paul GebhardAmerican anthropologist and sexologist · b. 1917B
Blaine GibsonAmerican artist, sculptor, and animator · b. 1918
Places that used to be
Places now gone
Rocky Ford’s post office has been open since 1871.
Gone or out of use
First Methodist Episcopal ChurchchurchPhysicians Hospitalhospital
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Rocky Ford’s history
What year was Rocky Ford founded?
The Rocky Ford post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.
How does Rocky Ford rank for history?
Rocky Ford is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #5 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 Rocky Ford?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Carnegie Public Library (listed 1995, the first), and 1 site. 10 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Rocky Ford?
35% of Rocky Ford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1953.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.