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History · Walsh

Walsh’s post office opened in 1926

Most of Walsh was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1930.

1926first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Walsh’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Walsh began

When was Walsh founded?

1926

The Walsh post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 454 in 19302020 census: 543100 years
Founding year: the first Walsh post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Walsh’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18923 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1984. Watch Walsh change.Boom and bustPeaked at 989 in 1970; 543 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Walsh’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Walsh’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 viewColorado [Adams County - Las Animas Cou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Walsh on the map, 1892 to 1984

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

Walsh on the 1892 USGS mapWalsh on the 1978 USGS mapWalsh on the 1984 USGS map1892Vilas sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Walsh, census by census

02004006008001,00019401960198020002020Peak: 989

Peaked at 989 in 1970; 543 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

The story

How Walsh came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Walsh.

Read it all →

The community was named after one Mr. Walsh, an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway official.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Walsh, 1892 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1926Post officeThe Walsh post office opens
  5. 1940In the archiveColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
  6. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 989
  7. 1980Born hereMike Thompson is born here
By decade

Walsh, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
1950s–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
Today4 recent
Walsh, Colorado2019Walsh, ColoradoWalsh, Colorado main street2019Walsh, Colorado main streetWalsh, Colorado2006Walsh, ColoradoWalsh, Colorado2006Walsh, Colorado
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.

Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
Retake this viewColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)], 1940

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Walsh’s history

What year was Walsh founded?

The Walsh post office opened in 1926, 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 →
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 (5), Wikidata (1), 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.