Silverton, Colorado
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Silverton, Colorado | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| County | San Juan County |
| Established | 1876 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Greg Swanson |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Town | 531 |
| ZIP code | 81433 |
| Area code(s) | 970 |
| Website: www.silvertoncolorado.com | |
Silverton is a historic mining town in San Juan County, Colorado, (USA). The population was 531 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of San Juan CountyGR6. Silverton is linked to Durango by the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Silverton no longer has active mining, but subsists by maintenance of U.S. 550, which runs from Montrose to Durango, mine pollution remediation, retired folks and tourism. The governing body, a board of trustees, is currently being sued by residents Bill and Laura Alsup, who want to be paid $100,000 for a ski lift they "donated" to the town.
[edit] Geography
Silverton is located at (37.812545, -107.662994)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²), all land. Silverton is one of the highest towns in the United States, at 9,305 feet (2,836 m) above sea level.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 531 people, 255 households, and 149 families residing in the town. The population density was 253.1/km² (656.0/mi²). There were 430 housing units at an average density of 205.0/km² (531.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.36% White, 0.75% Native American, 0.38% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.72% of the population.
There were 255 households out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.63.
In the town the population was spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 39.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 108.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $30,486, and the median income for a family was $39,375. Males had a median income of $30,588 versus $19,886 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,839. About 14.0% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.4% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
The local school system has a total of 53 K-through-12 students as of November, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Town of Silverton (official website)
- Silverton history and photos at Western Mining History
- Durango Herald Newspaper Durango Herald Newspaper
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
| The Million Dollar Highway (Route 550) |
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| Passes: Coal Bank Pass | Molas Pass | Red Mountain Pass Towns: Durango | Silverton | Ouray |
