The story
Read it all →How Snowmass Village came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Snowmass Village.
Kenneth Lay, the former CEO of Enron, died while vacationing in Snowmass on July 5, 2006.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick answers
About Snowmass Village’s history
How historic is Snowmass Village?
D−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Snowmass Village’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Snowmass Village is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #141 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Snowmass Village’s overall grade.
Founding eraWithout a firm founding date for Snowmass Village, this grade rests on its old homes and Register listings–Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.5) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CO town 1.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 2%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 11%
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 Snowmass Village’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Snowmass Village’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Snowmass Village’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Snowmass Village’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Snowmass Village on the map, 1893 to 1987
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Snowmass Village. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Aspen sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Snowmass Village.
By decade
Snowmass Village, decade by decade
2025
2025
2022Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Snowmass Village
Nobody well known was born in Snowmass Village itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
G
Gabe NewellAmerican computer programmer and businessman · b. 1962
A
Alexi GrewalRacing cyclist · b. 1960
Places that used to be
Places now gone
Gone or out of use
Millinee Minemine
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Snowmass Village’s history
How does Snowmass Village rank for history?
Snowmass Village is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #141 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.
How old are the homes in Snowmass Village?
0.0% of Snowmass Village’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.