Cañon City, Colorado

Located in Cañon City's National Historic District, the St. Cloud Hotel has stood at the corner of 6th and Main since 1888. It is currently unoccupied and in disrepair after a string of failed attempts to revive the business. The hotel was moved brick by brick from Silvercliff in 1888.

Royal Gorge in 1987

Arkansas Riverwalk in Cañon City, part of John Griffin Regional Park, owned and operated by the Cañon City Area Metropolitan Recreation and Park District.

''For other similar names see also Canyon City.

The City of Cañon City () is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 16,000 in 2005. Cañon City is famous for being the site of 9 state and 4 federal prisons. It straddles the Arkansas River, and is a popular tourist destination for Whitewater rafting and rock climbing.

In 1994, the Board on Geographic Names approved adding the tilde in the official name of Cañon City, a change from Canon City as the official name in decisions of 1906 and 1975. It is one of the few U.S. cities to have an eñe in its name.

History

Cañon City was laid out on 17 January 1858 during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, but then left idle. A new company "jumped" the townsite in late 1859, and put up the first building in February 1860. The town was originally intended as a commercial center for miners in South Park and the upper Arkansas River.

In 1861 the town raised two companies of volunteers for service with the Second Colorado Infantry in the American Civil War. The regiment fought battles in nearby New Mexico and as far east as Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) and Missouri before mustering out of service in 1865.

In 1862, A. M. Cassaday drilled for petroleum six miles north of town, near an oil seep. He struck oil at a depth of 50 feet, and completed the first commercial oil well west of the Mississippi. He drilled five or six more wells nearby, and refined kerosene and fuel oil from the petroleum, and sold the products in Denver.

A number of ore smelters were built in Cañon City following the discovery of gold at Cripple Creek in 1891.

Geography

Cañon City is located at (38.446800, -105.228305) at an altitude of 5,332 ft (1,625 m).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.0 square miles (31.2 km²), of which, 12.0 square miles (31.1 km²) of it is land and 0.08% is water.

The city's nickname, "the Climate Capital of Colorado", derives from the combination of unique geography and 5,300 ft elevation protecting the city from harsh weather conditions. The average daily high temperature in January is 14 degrees higher in Cañon City than in Grand Junction even though Cañon City's elevation is higher.

Overnight lows are also considerably warmer in Cañon City than in Denver. The average minimum temperature in January is 26 degrees. During July, overnight lows are 70 degrees on average.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,431 people, 6,164 households, and 3,803 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,284.1 people per square mile (495.7/km²). There were 6,617 housing units at an average density of 550.6/sq mi (212.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.15% White, 1.59% African American, 1.04% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.61% from other races, and 2.01% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.33% of the population.

There were 6,164 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.90.

The age distribution was 23.5% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,736, and the median income for a family was $42,917. Males had a median income of $31,258 versus $21,849 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,970. About 7.1% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Cañon City is governed via the mayor-council system. The city council consists of four members who are elected from districts. The mayor is elected by the entire city.