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CHistory
History · Wiggins

Wiggins dates to 1882, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Wiggins was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2011. Its Register listing is the Trail School, Old. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1980.

1882founded
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wiggins began

When was Wiggins founded?

1882

Wiggins dates its founding to 1882 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1980.

First census: 531 in 19802020 census: 1,401144 years

How historic is Wiggins?

C

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1874.
History grade

What drives Wiggins’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wiggins is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wiggins’ overall grade.
Founding era1882, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.6% of homes (±3.9) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 6.4 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 34%
NewerOlder

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 Wiggins’ 6.4 sits above most of its state (66% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). Two sources give 1882.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Wiggins’ 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 Wiggins are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wiggins.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wiggins’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Wiggins’s post office has been open since 1896. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Corona
1874–1896
Wiggins
1896–today
Vallery
1907–1919
18701950today

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

The story so far

Wiggins, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wiggins yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Wiggins is a statutory town in Morgan County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,401 as of the 2020 census, up from 893 at the 2010 census. The community was established in 1882 as the Burlington Railroad depot of "Corona". Around 1900, Corona was renamed in honor of Oliver P. Wiggins, who had served as a guide and scout for Captain John C. Frémont on some of his explorations through northern Colorado in the 1840s and who had accompanied Kit Carson for 12 years on his expeditions.

Wiggins was established in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 893 to 1,401 (+57%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Wiggins, 1874 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Corona post office opens
  3. 1882
    FoundingWiggins is established
  4. 1896Post officeThe Corona post office closes
  5. 1896Post officeThe Wiggins post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907Post officeThe Vallery post office opens
  8. 1912BuiltTrail School, Old is built
  9. 1919Post officeThe Vallery post office closes
  10. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wiggins, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Wiggins, Colorado Municipal Building2017Wiggins, Colorado Municipal BuildingBN 6301, 6308, 6311, 2045, and 2036 (SD40, SD40, SD40, GP20, and GP20) near Wiggins, CO in July 19812017BN 6301, 6308, 6311, 2045, and 2036 (SD40, SD40, SD40…Old Train School Front2014Old Train School FrontOld Trail School2014Old Trail SchoolAerial views of drought affected Colorado farm land2012Aerial views of drought affected Colorado farm landAerial views of drought affected Colorado2012Aerial views of drought affected ColoradoAerial views of drought affected Colorado2012Aerial views of drought affected ColoradoWigginsCORestArea2006WigginsCORestAreaCOMap-doton-Wiggins2005COMap-doton-Wiggins
On the map

Wiggins on the map, 1950 to 1971

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

Wiggins on the 1950 USGS mapWiggins on the 1971 USGS map1950Wiggins 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 Wiggins.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Wiggins

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Trail School, Old
Trail School, Old, built 1912
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Trail School, OldLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements · Built 1912

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

People over time

Wiggins, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001980200020201,401

Grew from 531 people in 1980 to 1,401 in 2020.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Wiggins

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

See all →
Dustin JacobyAmerican martial artist · b. 1988
P
Pat DayAmerican jockey · b. 1953
K
Kyle BellAmerican football tight end, Syracuse · b. 1985
R
Robert G. WhiteheadAmerican businessman · b. 1916
Edward W. EstlowAmerican journalist and businessman · b. 1920
E
Eldora LorenziniAmerican designer, muralist, painter, and print… · b. 1910

Questions about Wiggins’ history

What year was Wiggins founded?

In 1882, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Wiggins’ post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1980 counted 531 people here.

How does Wiggins rank for history?

Wiggins is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns. 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 Wiggins?

One place: the Trail School, Old (listed 2004).

How old are the homes in Wiggins?

4% of Wiggins’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 2011.

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