Steamboat Springs’ post office opened in 1878, and 11 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #46 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Steamboat Springs was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. 11 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 84 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Steamboat Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Steamboat Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Steamboat Springs is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #46 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Steamboat Springs’ 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 Steamboat Springs’ 70.7 sits above most of its state (92% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 95 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 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 Steamboat Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area surrounding Steamboat Springs was originally inhabited by the Yampatika band of the Utes, who hunted in the valley during the summer. Trappers began to move through the area during the first decades of the 19th century. James Harvey Crawford, the founder of Steamboat Springs, first arrived in the spring of 1874. The Crawford family moved there in 1876, and for the first five years were the sole permanent white residents of the town. The native Utes were forcibly removed from the area to a reservation in Utah by the U.S. Army starting in 1879. Milestones in the development of the pioneer town included the first sawmill in 1873, incorporation of the town in 1900, and the arrival of the railroad in 1909. The economy of the region was originally based on ranching and mining, which still have a large presence in the county.
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.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Steamboat Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1969Steamboat Springs 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 Steamboat Springs.
Every building
Steamboat Springs, building by building, 1911–1920
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.
The Steamboat Springs post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Steamboat Springs rank for history?
Steamboat Springs is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #46 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 Steamboat Springs?
11 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Steamboat Springs Depot (listed 1978, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Perry-Mansfield School of Theatre and Dance and the Steamboat Springs Downtown Historic District, with 84 contributing buildings. 95 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Steamboat Springs?
2% of Steamboat Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 (7), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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