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History · Penrose

Penrose’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
17recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Settlers followed the Pike's Peak gold rush (July 1858 and lasted until the creation of the Territory of Colorado on February 28, 1861). Farmers were incentivized by the Homestead Act to come to the area. A stage coach stop was established along Beaver Creek, which was known as the Beaver Creek settlement initially, with a post office there by 1868. Then, the settlement became known as Glendale. It had a stagecoach stop and hotel named Glendale Inn Stage Coach Stop as well as other names. A school was established there in 1868 and operated until 1912, when a school was established in Penrose. It is east or the eastern part of present-day Penrose.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Start Penrose’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Penrose

See all 29 →
Talcott ParsonsTalcott ParsonsColorado Springs · 33 miLon ChaneyLon ChaneyColorado Springs · 33 miDavid PackardDavid PackardPueblo · 24 miJon WattsJon WattsFountain · 25 miScott WalkerScott WalkerColorado Springs · 33 miKelly BishopKelly BishopColorado Springs · 33 mi
By decade

Penrose, 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.
📷 Add from your album
Today17 photos
Brush Hollow Supply DitchCommonsBrush Hollow Supply Ditch2025Penrose, Colorado 2023CommonsPenrose, Colorado 20232023Penrose, ColoradoCommonsPenrose, Colorado2018Penrose - panoramio (9)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (9)2011Penrose - panoramio (8)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (8)2011Penrose - panoramio (7)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (7)2011Penrose - panoramio (6)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (6)2011Penrose - panoramio (5)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (5)2011Penrose - panoramio (4)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (4)2011Penrose - panoramio (3)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (3)2011Penrose - panoramio (2)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (2)2011Penrose - panoramio (11)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (11)2011Penrose - panoramio (10)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (10)2011Penrose - panoramio (1)CommonsPenrose - panoramio (1)2011Independance trailCommonsIndependance trail2011Penrose, ColoradoCommonsPenrose, Colorado2006COMap-doton-PenroseCommonsCOMap-doton-Penrose2005
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Penrose is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Penrose has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Main Street Bridge in Florence, 6.5 miles away.

Penrose and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Penrose. Tap a dot.
Main Street BridgeDowntown Florence Historic DistrictUS Post Office-Florence MainFlorence High SchoolHoly Cross AbbeyBridge No. 10/Adelaide Bridge

Closest to Penrose

Main Street BridgeFlorence · Structure6.5miDowntown Florence Historic DistrictFlorence · District6.7miUS Post Office-Florence MainFlorence · Building6.7miFlorence High SchoolFlorence · Building6.9miHoly Cross AbbeyCañon City · Built 188611mi

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. Main Street Bridge’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Penrose?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Penrose’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
📜 Florence📜 Coal Creek📜 Williamsburg📜 Rockvale

From Wikimedia Commons (17). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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