Silt’s post office opened in 1898, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #74 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Silt was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Its Register listing is the John Herbert Nunns House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1962 on, and the census since 1920.
The Silt post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ferguson (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 165 in 19202020 census: 3,536128 years
How historic is Silt?
C
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Silt post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Silt’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Silt is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #74 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Silt’s 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 Silt’s 2.7 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Silt’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
George Ferguson filed a homestead claim at the site of present-day Silt on April 21, 1886. He established a ferry across the Grand River (now the Colorado River), along with a wagon barn, livery stable, store, and post office to serve travelers between communities on the Western Slope. The settlement, originally known as Ferguson, was renamed Silt in 1889 when the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad established a depot near Ferguson's ranch. The community was named for the silt deposits at the original town site. A post office was established at Silt in 1898.
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.
Silt’s post office has been open since 1898. Another post office, Ferguson, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ferguson
1883–1891
Silt
1898–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Eastside Minemine
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Silt’s history
What year was Silt founded?
The Silt post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Silt rank for history?
Silt is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #74 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 Silt?
One place: the John Herbert Nunns House (listed 2013).
How old are the homes in Silt?
2% of Silt’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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