A history of Granby,
since 1904
Postcards, papers and photographs of Granby from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The town was founded in 1904 along the route of the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railway and was incorporated one year later. It was named after Granby Hillyer, a Denver lawyer who later served as the United States Attorney for that city's district.
Many Granby and Grand County residents are descended from pioneer settlers who arrived before the country was fully surveyed. Early families established themselves under the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed easy access to land to those who would inhabit and improve upon the territory.
Since the turn of the century, families have contended for prime ranch land. Their waning ranch once covered approximately 20,000 acres (81 km2) and was rich in cattle and hay.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Granby’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewRanch near Granby, Colorado, 1941: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Granby, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Granby is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Granby has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Byers Peak Ranch in Fraser, 9.7 miles away.
Granby and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Ranch near Granby, Colorado (1941) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom the Library of Congress (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.