Welcome to Ames ...
So far, we found very little information about Ames. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Ames to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Ames, please Contact Us.
Ames would have been located within present day San Miguel County<2>.
The location of Ames has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<3>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Ames, you might consider that their post office opened in 1880.
When the people of Ames referred to themselves (known as a demonym), they are believed to have used Amesite<4>
While the community is gone, the present day location for Ames is 8,720 feet [2,658 m] above sea level.<5> In other words, the elevation of Ames is about 1¾ mile [or ~2¾ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: The area where Ames was located is in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
The location where Ames once stood is in the (970) area code.
Communities Also Named Ames ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 17 communities that are also named Ames - they are located in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas (2) and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ames.
Communities near Ames ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Ames.
- Telluride
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telluride
- Telluride is located in San Miguel County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,416 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Telluride <6>
- Mountain Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Village
- Mountain Village is located in San Miguel County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,470 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain Village <6>
- Ouray
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ouray
- Ouray is located in Ouray County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,046 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ouray <6>
- Silverton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverton
- Silverton is located in San Juan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silverton <6>
- Rico
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rico have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rico
- Rico is located in Dolores County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rico <6>
- Sawpit
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawpit
- Sawpit is located in San Miguel County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
- Sawpit has also been known as:
- Saw Pit
- Vance Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vance Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance Junction
- Vance Junction is located in San Miguel County
- Keystone ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
- Keystone is located in San Miguel County
- Liberty Bell ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Bell
- Liberty Bell is located in San Miguel County
- Pandora
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pandora
- Pandora is located in San Miguel County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Ames. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Ames.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Ames. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ames.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Ames. See our Newspapers Page for Ames.
Adding Ames to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Ames in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Ames was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Ames post office opened in 1880.
We also found Ames in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Ames.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for San Miguel County: www.sanmiguelcounty.org/
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Ames, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | If you're interested in how the shape of Colorado's counties, including San Miguel, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <3> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <4> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Ames refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Ames may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Ames - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |