The Colorado City post office opened in 1939, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Colorado (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,582 in 18902020 census: 3,99187 years
How historic is Colorado City?
B−
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Colorado City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Colorado City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colorado City is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #140 of 642 in Texas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colorado City’s overall grade.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Colorado City’s 2.5 sits above most of its state (77% of Texas 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 A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 points). 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 Colorado City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Colorado City originated as a ranger camp in 1877. It grew into a cattlemen's center and has been called "the Mother City of West Texas". The town acquired a railway station and post office in 1881 and was named the county seat. In the early 1880s, it was a center for cattle shipment, with herds driven to Colorado City and loaded onto trains for shipment to the eastern markets. Its population was estimated at 6,000 in 1884–1885, but dropped to 2,500 by 1890 after a drought, and dropped further with the growth of nearby San Angelo.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Colorado City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Colorado City 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 Colorado City.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Colorado City
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Colorado City’s post office has been open since 1939. Another post office, Colorado, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Colorado
1881–1939
Colorado City
1939–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Christian TemplechurchChurch of ChristchurchNathaniel Primitive Baptist ChurchchurchTemplo Palabras de VidachurchWallace Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Colorado City
Cemetery of the SandsColorado CityCumberland PresbyterianMitchell County
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Colorado City’s history
What year was Colorado City founded?
The Colorado City post office opened in 1939, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Colorado City rank for history?
Colorado City is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #140 of 642 in Texas. 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 Colorado City?
One place: the Scott-Majors House (listed 1979).
How old are the homes in Colorado City?
22% of Colorado City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
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