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History · Silverton

Silverton dates to 1873, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them the Silverton Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 13 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1875 on.

1873founded
1on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Silverton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Silverton began

When was Silverton founded?

1873

Silverton dates its founding to 1873 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1875.

2020 census: 622153 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓

What stands out about Silverton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark1 place on the National Register, including Silverton Historic District, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 13 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
Silverton Historic District
historic buildings protected
13
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Silverton Historic District
Silverton Historic District★
Districts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Industrial1
★ Landmark
Silverton Historic DistrictIndustrial

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

The story

How Silverton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Silverton.

Read it all →

Settlements in the area surrounding present-day Silverton began in 1860 after a group of prospectors led by Charles Baker made their way into the San Juan Mountains searching for gold. The area was soon referred to as "Baker's Park", and the group found traces of placer gold nearby.

Long before settlement, the area was regularly explored by the Anasazi, and later the Utes, who hunted and lived in the San Juans during the summer. There is also speculation that Spanish explorers and fur traders ventured into the area before Baker's 1860 expedition.

ChaptersMining eraTourism eraNotable disasters

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Silverton, 1873 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873
    FoundingSilverton is established
  3. 1875In the archiveSilverton, CO: Plat of the Townsite of Silverton La Plata County, Colorado
  4. 1875Post officeThe Silverton post office opens
  5. 1897In the archiveDetroit Photographic Company (0257)
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901In the archiveSilverton and Sultan Mountain, Colorado
  8. 1901Born hereBeulah Booker is born here
  9. 1961LandmarkSilverton Historic District named a National Historic Landmark
  10. 1982In the archiveSilverton 1982-06-14-b 47-ps
By decade

Silverton, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s5 items
Silverton, CO: Plat of the Townsite of Silverton La Plata County, Colorado1875Silverton, CO: Plat of the Townsite of Silverton La P…Detroit Photographic Company (0257)c. 1897Detroit Photographic Company (0257)Silverton and Sultan Mountain, Colorado1901Silverton and Sultan Mountain, ColoradoSilverton and Sultan Mountain, Colorado1901Silverton and Sultan Mountain, ColoradoSilverton RR Co. 19081908Silverton RR Co. 1908
1910s–1970snothing 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
1980s1 item
Silverton 1982-06-14-b 47-ps1982Silverton 1982-06-14-b 47-ps
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
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.

Silverton, CO: Plat of the Townsite of Silverton La Plata County, Colorado
Retake this viewSilverton, CO: Plat of the Townsite of Silverton La Plata County, Colorado, 1875

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Silverton’s post office has been open since 1875.

Gone or out of use
Dora MinemineMillion Dollar Tunnel Minemine

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Silverton’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 viewSilverton, CO: Plat of the Townsite of …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Silverton’s history

What year was Silverton founded?

In 1873, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Silverton’s post office opened in 1875.

What is on the National Register in Silverton?

One place: the Silverton Historic District (listed 1966).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.