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History · South Fork

South Fork’s post office opened in 1876, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of South Fork was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listings are the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad South Fork Water Tank and the Spruce Lodge. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1967 on, and the census since 2000.

1876first post office
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From South Fork’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How South Fork began

When was South Fork founded?

1876

The South Fork post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 604 in 20002020 census: 510150 years
Founding year: the first South Fork post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about South Fork’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Fork’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Fork’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRiviere Motel: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How South Fork came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of South Fork.

Read it all →

South Fork was founded in 1882, by which date its location was already marked by the presence of a coaching post, dating from the construction of the railroad connection of the Rio Grande Western Railroad line to Creede, which had been built to support the Creede silver mine. It was only in 1992 that South Fork achieved independent statutory town status, making it the youngest statutory town in the state. Originally the principal economic activities involved forestry and mining, but in recent decades these have been overtaken in the employment statistics by tourism.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

South Fork, 1876 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe South Fork post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1927BuiltSpruce Lodge is built
  5. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1980In the archiveRiviere Motel
By decade

South Fork, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s3 items
Riviere Motel1980Riviere MotelRiviere Motel1980Riviere MotelRiviere Motel1980Riviere Motel
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
Today14 recent
Religous Building - Agua Ramon, Colorado, 20162016Religous Building - Agua Ramon, Colorado, 2016Holy Family Mission Church - South Fork, Colorado, 20162016Holy Family Mission Church - South Fork, Colorado, 20…Spruce Lodge2014Spruce LodgeSouth Fork Rio Grande2014South Fork Rio GrandeSouthForkColoradoFromAguaRamonMountainNovember20112011SouthForkColoradoFromAguaRamonMountainNovember2011RioGrandeNationalForestNearSouthForkColoradoNovember20112011RioGrandeNationalForestNearSouthForkColoradoNovember2…Rio Grande near2009Rio Grande nearRio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (6)2009Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (6)Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (5)2009Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (5)Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (4)2009Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (4)Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (3)2009Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (3)Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (2)2009Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (2)Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (1)2009Rio Grande near South Fork Colorado - panoramio (1)South Fork, Colorado outskirts2006South Fork, Colorado outskirts
On the map

South Fork on the map, 1967 to 2001

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

South Fork on the 1967 USGS mapSouth Fork on the 2001 USGS map1967South Fork West 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 South Fork.

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.

Riviere Motel
Retake this viewRiviere Motel, 1980

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in South Fork

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad South Fork Water T…
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad South Fork Water TankSpruce Lodge, built 1927
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Rustic Style1
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad South Fork Water TankStructure
Spruce LodgeRustic Style · Built 1927

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

People over time

South Fork, census by census

010020030040050060020002020Peak: 604

Between 386 and 604 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to South Fork

Nobody well known was born in South Fork itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Kent RomingerAmerican astronaut · b. 1956
Hugh HarmanAmerican animator · b. 1903
Alva B. AdamsAmerican politician · b. 1875
M
Morgan SparksAmerican physical chemist · b. 1916
M
Myron ThompsonCanadian politician · b. 1936
G
Greg SmithAmerican politician · b. 1955
Places that used to be

Old corners

South Fork’s post office has been open since 1876.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Baxterville

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

Questions about South Fork’s history

What year was South Fork founded?

The South Fork post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in South Fork?

Two places: the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad South Fork Water Tank (listed 2002) and the Spruce Lodge (2008).

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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.