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–Not graded
History · Sugarloaf

Sugarloaf’s post office opened in 1867

Most of Sugarloaf was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1902 on.

1867first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Sugarloaf began

When was Sugarloaf founded?

1867

The Sugarloaf post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Sugar Loaf (1867), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 274159 years
Founding year: the first Sugarloaf post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Sugarloaf’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sugarloaf are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1978. Watch Sugarloaf change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sugarloaf’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Sugarloaf on the map, 1902 to 1978

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

Sugarloaf on the 1902 USGS mapSugarloaf on the 1957 USGS mapSugarloaf on the 1978 USGS map1902Boulder sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sugarloaf.

The story

How Sugarloaf came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sugarloaf.

Read it all →

Sugarloaf, sometimes spelled Sugar Loaf, Boulder County, was referred to in Colorado historical records dating back to 1868. It seems the early name came from a mining claim referred to as "Sugar Loaf, near Yellow Pine."

Sugar Loaf seems also to have been a term for a mining district, of multiple mining claims.

In 1989, a destructive wildfire swept up and across much of Sugarloaf burning 2,100 acres (850 ha), destroying 44 houses and other structures, and causing approximately US$10 million in damages.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sugarloaf, 1867 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Post officeThe Sugar Loaf post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1944Post officeThe Sugar Loaf post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Sugarloaf

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

See all →
Edward Lawrie TatumUS genetics scientist · b. 1909
K
Kristin DavisAmerican actress · b. 1965
Scott CarpenterAmerican test pilot, astronaut and aquanaut · b. 1925
J
John Carroll LynchAmerican character actor and film director · b. 1963
Emma CoburnAmerican steeplechaser · b. 1990
Jack D. FischerAmerican astronaut · b. 1974
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Another post office, Sugar Loaf, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Alpine Horn MinemineAmalban Thief MinemineBoulder MinemineDavid MinemineDodge MinemineDoss MinemineEureka Alta MinemineFairmount MinemineHerald MinemineHideaway Number One MinemineHigh Grade MinemineHillside MinemineLivingston MinemineLucky Lady MinemineMystery Group MinemineNational Number Two MinemineNederland MinemineNil Sine Numine Minemine

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Mountain MeadowsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Sugarloaf’s history

What year was Sugarloaf founded?

The Sugarloaf post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.