Englewood grew out of Orchard Place and Cherrelyn

The name Englewood does not explain itself, so the city’s history is worth a short read. Today’s Englewood, in Arapahoe County just south of Denver, was once several smaller communities that decided to join together.

One early settlement here was called Orchard Place, tied to a homesteader who farmed the land in the mid-1800s. Nearby was an area called Cherrelyn, remembered today for a horsecar line that once carried passengers up a hill. In 1903, residents voted to combine Orchard Place, Cherrelyn, and the surrounding area into a single incorporated city, which they named Englewood.

Why this is handy to know: street names, old plats, and neighborhood nicknames in Englewood can still reflect those earlier communities. If you are researching a property’s history or just trying to make sense of how the city is stitched together, knowing it formed from several pieces clears up a lot.

Englewood is its own city with its own government, separate from the county and from neighboring cities, so its rules and services are set locally. For the founding story and the older community names, check the City of Englewood’s history pages.