Paoli

Paoli, Colorado is a very small statutory town in Phillips County on U.S. Highway 6 in northeastern Colorado, historically tied to the railroad and surrounding dryland and irrigated farms. It remains one of Colorado’s smallest incorporated places and functions mainly as a local agricultural service point.

History

Paoli developed as a railroad line town in the late 1800s, when the Burlington–Missouri (later CB&Q) pushed tracks between Haxtun and Holyoke and needed stations every few miles across the plains. The town itself was formally incorporated on August 6, 1930, after several decades of growth around the depot, grain elevators, and small businesses. A post office called Paoli has been in operation since 1888, giving the community an official name long before incorporation. The town was named after Paoli, Pennsylvania; local tradition suggests a railroad engineer chose the name for his hometown, though this detail is remembered in oral history rather than firmly documented. Historic census tables show Paoli’s population peaking around mid 20th century, with the 1950 census recording 91 residents, the highest documented count. Since then the town has fluctuated at much lower levels; as of the 2020 census, Paoli’s population was 51, keeping it in the category of Colorado’s tiniest incorporated communities.

Major industries

Agriculture has always been Paoli’s foundation, with local elevators handling wheat, corn, and other grains for shipment by rail. Through the 1900s the town also supported a surprisingly full local business district for its size, including a farmers cooperative elevator (operating since 1919), hardware and lumber stores, a barber shop, oil and filling station, cafe, drug store, and feed services, all geared to farm and ranch needs.

Geography

Paoli lies at approximately 40°36′44″ north latitude and 102°28′22″ west longitude (40.612120, −102.472868). The town covers about 0.3 square miles (0.77–0.78 square kilometers), all of it land. The town sits on the high plains of northeastern Colorado along U.S. 6 between Holyoke and Haxtun, with Interstate 76 and the South Platte valley farther to the north and west. Its semi arid climate brings hot summers, cold winters, and limited precipitation, conditions that shape local dryland and irrigated farming practices.

Obscure and Notable Facts

A local history notes that Paoli once supported a population of roughly 150 or more during its most active years, with two Methodist churches, hotel, bank branch, pool halls, and multiple grain companies, an unusually dense business mix for such a small place. The Paoli Farmers Cooperative Elevator, founded in 1919, is cited as the town’s longest running business and recently celebrated its centennial, symbolizing Paoli’s persistence as “the little town that could” despite heavy depopulation and loss of most storefronts.