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D−History
History · Vail

Vail’s post office opened in 1966

Among the newest of U.S. towns · #157 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

Most of Vail was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 24 old photos and papers, maps from 1934 on, and the census since 1970.

1966first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
24old photos & papers
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Vail’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Vail began

When was Vail founded?

1966

The Vail post office opened in 1966, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 484 in 19702020 census: 4,83560 years

How historic is Vail?

D−

Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Vail post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Vail’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vail is among the newest of U.S. towns, #157 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vail’s overall grade.
Founding era1966, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.2) · 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)Among the newest
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)#157 of 159

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 Vail’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 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 Vail’s past

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

A town in old photos24 old photos, postcards and papers.Famous sons and daughtersMikaela Shiffrin, Jaelin Kauf and 9 more were born here.
★ What stands out · By decade

Vail, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s24 items
"NO SKIING IN THE STREETS" SAYS THE REGULATION1974"NO SKIING IN THE STREETS" SAYS THE REGULATIONBETWEEN SKI RUNS1974BETWEEN SKI RUNSCASTS AND CRUTCHES ARE PART OF THE SKIING SCENE1974CASTS AND CRUTCHES ARE PART OF THE SKIING SCENECATCHING UP ON THE NEWS1974CATCHING UP ON THE NEWSCONDOMINIUMS AT THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAIN IN VAIL VILLAGE1974CONDOMINIUMS AT THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAIN IN VAIL VILL…Condominiums at the Base of the Mountain in Vail Village 02-19741974Condominiums at the Base of the Mountain in Vail Vill…FRAZIER'S BAR IS AT THE BOTTOM OF LIONSHEAD MOUNTAIN1974FRAZIER'S BAR IS AT THE BOTTOM OF LIONSHEAD MOUNTAINFrazier's Bar Is at the Bottom of Lionshead Mountain 02-19741974Frazier's Bar Is at the Bottom of Lionshead Mountain …GATHERING AT A PUB FOR SOME APRES SKI REFRESHMENT1974GATHERING AT A PUB FOR SOME APRES SKI REFRESHMENTIn the Village1974In the VillageLunch at Pepi's Outdoor Cafe1974Lunch at Pepi's Outdoor CafeLunch at Pepi's Outdoor Cafe1974Lunch at Pepi's Outdoor CafeLUNCH AT PEPI'S OUTDOOR CAFE1974LUNCH AT PEPI'S OUTDOOR CAFEOUTSIDE DONOVANS CAFE1974OUTSIDE DONOVANS CAFEOutside Donovans Cafe 02-19741974Outside Donovans Cafe 02-1974RETURNING TO THE VILLAGE AFTER A DAY OF SKIING1974RETURNING TO THE VILLAGE AFTER A DAY OF SKIINGSHERIFF OF VAIL TALKS WITH A VISITOR1974SHERIFF OF VAIL TALKS WITH A VISITORSKI EMBLEMS DECORATE DOOR OF DONOVANS, AN APRES SKI SPOT1974SKI EMBLEMS DECORATE DOOR OF DONOVANS, AN APRES SKI S…SKIERS ENJOY LATE AFTERNOON SUN AND A SNACK1974SKIERS ENJOY LATE AFTERNOON SUN AND A SNACKSNUG AS A BUG IN A CARTON ON RUNNERS1974SNUG AS A BUG IN A CARTON ON RUNNERSTHE VILLAGE OF VAIL WAS BUILT EXCLUSIVELY FOR SKIERS1974THE VILLAGE OF VAIL WAS BUILT EXCLUSIVELY FOR SKIERSVAIL WAS DESIGNED FOR WALKING. AUTO TRAFFIC IS KEPT TO A MINIMUM1974VAIL WAS DESIGNED FOR WALKING. AUTO TRAFFIC IS KEPT T…Vail Village at Night 02-19741974Vail Village at Night 02-1974Ford A7776 NLGRF photo contact sheet (1975-12-25)(Gerald Ford Library)1975Ford A7776 NLGRF photo contact sheet (1975-12-25)(Ger…
1980s–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
Famous people

11 famous people were born in Vail

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Mikaela ShiffrinAmerican alpine skier · b. 1995
Jaelin KaufAmerican freestyle skier · b. 1996
Elizabeth LemleyAmerican freestyle skier · b. 2006
K
Katie UhlaenderAmerican skeleton racer · b. 1984
T
Tess JohnsonAmerican freestyle moguls skier · b. 2000
Buddy LazierRacecar driver · b. 1967
The story

How Vail came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Vail.

Read it all →

Vail was incorporated in 1966, four years after the opening of Vail Ski Resort. The ski area was founded by Pete Seibert and local rancher Earl Eaton in 1962, at the base of Vail Pass. The pass was named after Charles Vail, the highway engineer who routed U.S. Highway 6 through the Eagle Valley in 1940, which eventually became Interstate 70. Seibert, a New England native, served in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division during World War II, which trained at Camp Hale, 14 miles south of Vail between Red Cliff and Leadville. He was wounded in Italy at the Battle of Riva Ridge but went on to become a professional skier after he recovered.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Vail, 1934 to 2006

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1966Post officeThe Vail post office opens
  4. 1974In the archive"NO SKIING IN THE STREETS" SAYS THE REGULATION
  5. 1984Born hereKatie Uhlaender is born here
  6. 1995Born hereMikaela Shiffrin is born here
  7. 1996Born hereJaelin Kauf is born here
  8. 21st century
  9. 2006Born hereElizabeth Lemley is born here
On the map

Vail on the map, 1934 to 1950

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

Vail on the 1934 USGS mapVail on the 1950 USGS map1934Minturn 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 Vail.

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.

"NO SKIING IN THE STREETS" SAYS THE REGULATION
Retake this view"NO SKIING IN THE STREETS" SAYS THE REGULATION, 1974

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Vail, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,500198020002020Peak: 5,305

Between 484 and 5,305 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Vail’s post office has been open since 1966.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BighornWest Vail
1cemetery inside Vail
Vail Memorial Park

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

Help out

Finish Vail’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view"NO SKIING IN THE STREETS" SAYS THE REG…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Vail’s history

What year was Vail founded?

The Vail post office opened in 1966, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Vail rank for history?

Vail is among the newest of U.S. towns, #157 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 Vail?

0.0% of Vail’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1987.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (24), 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) 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.