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History · Marvel

Marvel’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Marvel. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
1recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

The Southern Ute Indian Reservation was created on November 9, 1878. The Marvel area was homesteaded in the late-1800s and early-1900s with ranching, farming, and oil extraction being the main economic drivers in the region. The Marvel, Colorado, post office opened on April 1, 1953.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Marvel’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from MarvelWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Marvel.Meet them →
By decade

Marvel, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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Today1 photo
Marvel, Colorado Post OfficeCommonsMarvel, Colorado Post Office2019
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Marvel is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Marvel has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Florence and John R. Pond House in La Plata, 9 miles away.

Marvel and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Marvel. Tap a dot.
Florence and John R. Pond HouseDenver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Locomotive No. 315Rochester HotelNewman BlockMain Avenue Historic DistrictOchsner Hospital

Closest to Marvel

Florence and John R. Pond HouseLa Plata · Built 18909miDenver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Locomotive No. 315Durango · Structure17.2miRochester HotelDurango · Building17.5miNewman BlockDurango · Building17.5miMain Avenue Historic DistrictDurango · District17.5mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Florence and John R. Pond House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Marvel?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Marvel’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Durango📜 Mancos📜 Aztec📜 Farmington

From Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Marvel, COView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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