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D−History
History · Winter Park

Winter Park’s post office opened in 1939

Among the newest of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Winter Park was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1980.

1939first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Winter Park’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Winter Park began

When was Winter Park founded?

1939

The Winter Park post office opened in 1939, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1978. Another post office, West Portal (1923), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 480 in 19802020 census: 1,03387 years

How historic is Winter Park?

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 Winter Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1978.
History grade

What drives Winter Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winter Park is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winter Park’s overall grade.
Founding era1939, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.5) · 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

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 Winter Park’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 (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1978.

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 Winter Park’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Winter Park, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Winter Park’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHistorical Forest Service Photos (19560…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Winter Park’s post office has been open since 1939. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

West Portal
1923–1939
Winter Park
1939–today
Hideaway Park
1950–1980
19201970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hideaway Park

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

The story so far

Winter Park, in brief

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

Winter Park is a home rule municipality in Grand County, Colorado, United States. The permanent population was 1,033 at the 2020 census, although with 2,850 housing units within the town limits the seasonal population can be much higher. It is home to Winter Park Resort, a ski resort owned by the City of Denver and managed by Alterra Mountain Company. The town and resort are served by the Winter Park Express ski train run by Amtrak. The area also has cross-country skiing opportunities, including Devil's Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa. In the spring and summer, Winter Park is known for mountain biking, concerts, hiking, and fishing.

Its first post office opened in 1939. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 999 to 1,033 (+3%).

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

Timeline

Winter Park, 1923 to 2002

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1923Post officeThe West Portal post office opens
  3. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1939Post officeThe West Portal post office closes
  5. 1939Post officeThe Winter Park post office opens
  6. 1950Post officeThe Hideaway Park post office opens
  7. 1956In the archiveHistorical Forest Service Photos (19560325-FS-Arapaho-KGB-481552)
  8. 1980Born hereJason Donald is born here
  9. 1980Post officeThe Hideaway Park post office closes
  10. 1984In the archiveWinter Park, CO, Feb'84
  11. 21st century
  12. 2002Born hereSvea Irving is born here
By decade

Winter Park, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1950s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1950s–1980s2 items
Historical Forest Service Photos (19560325-FS-Arapaho-KGB-481552)1956Historical Forest Service Photos (19560325-FS-Arapaho…Winter Park, CO, Feb'841984Winter Park, CO, Feb'84
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
Today16 recent
Fraser River Trail2018Fraser River TrailWinter Prak Fall Colors2017Winter Prak Fall ColorsEven though he's a moose, this statue gets a Panther blanket, placed by boosters of the local Middle Park Panthers socc…2016Even though he's a moose, this statue gets a Panther …Even though he's a moose, this statue gets a Panther blanket, placed by boosters of the local Middle Park Panthers socc…2016Even though he's a moose, this statue gets a Panther …One of many condominium apartments2016One of many condominium apartmentsMoffat Water Tunnel2016Moffat Water TunnelJames Peak and Parry Peak2016James Peak and Parry PeakLooking down Parrys Peek 12,060 feet2011Looking down Parrys Peek 12,060 feetWinter Park Ski Slope base2010Winter Park Ski Slope baseWinter Park Ski Resort, Colorado2010Winter Park Ski Resort, ColoradoWinter Park City Downtown Colorado2010Winter Park City Downtown ColoradoSpring splash-coco bongo2009Spring splash-coco bongoSpring Splash2009Spring SplashMcDs sign, WinterParkCO2009McDs sign, WinterParkCODowntown Winter Park, Colorado 20052006Downtown Winter Park, Colorado 2005Dylan Launches - Winter Park, Colorado - Flickr - gregor y2005Dylan Launches - Winter Park, Colorado - Flickr - gre…
On the map

Winter Park on the map, 1924 to 1957

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

Winter Park on the 1924 USGS mapWinter Park on the 1957 USGS map1924Fraser 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 Winter Park.

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.

Historical Forest Service Photos (19560325-FS-Arapaho-KGB-481552)
Retake this viewHistorical Forest Service Photos (19560325-FS-Arapaho-KGB-481552), 1956

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Winter Park, census by census

02004006008001,0001980200020201,033

Grew from 480 people in 1980 to 1,033 in 2020.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Winter Park

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

See all →
S
Svea IrvingAmerican freestyle skier · b. 2002
J
Jason DonaldRoad bicycle racer · b. 1980
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fraser2 historic placesB−

Questions about Winter Park’s history

What year was Winter Park founded?

The Winter Park post office opened in 1939, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1978.

How does Winter Park rank for history?

Winter Park is among the newest 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.

How old are the homes in Winter Park?

0.0% of Winter Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (3), 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.