Longmont, Colorado
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It has been suggested that List of mayors of Longmont, Colorado be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) |
| City of Longmont, Colorado | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  State of Colorado |
| Counties[1] | Boulder County Weld County |
| Founded | 1871 |
| Incorporated | November 15, 1885[2] |
| Named for | Stephen Harriman Long and Longs Peak |
| Government | |
| - Type | Home Rule Municipality[1] |
| - Mayor | Roger Lange (List) |
| Area | |
| - Total | 21.8 sq mi (56.4 km²) |
| - Land | 21.8 sq mi (56.4 km²) |
| - Water | 0 sq mi (0 km²) |
| Elevation [3] | 4,984 ft (1,519 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 71,093 |
| - Density | 3,261.1/sq mi (1,260.5/km²) |
| Time zone | MST (UTC-7) |
| - Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP codes[4] | 80501-80504 |
| Area code(s) | Both 303 and 720 |
| FIPS code | 08-45970 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0202560 |
| Highways | US 287, SH 66, SH 119 |
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| Website: City of Longmont | |
The City of Longmont is a Home Rule Municipality located in Boulder County and Weld County, Colorado, United States. Longmont is the 13th most populous city in the State of Colorado. The word "Longmont" comes from Longs Peak, a prominent mountain named for explorer Stephen H. Long that is clearly visible from Longmont, and "mont" from the French word for mountain. The city is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder and 31 miles (50 km) north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. In contrast to its better-known neighbor, Longmont has a much more quiet and residential feel, although the city has begun to grow rapidly in recent years, in part as a bedroom community to the more-expensive Boulder and to nearby Denver.
Also notable, Longmont was declared an "All-America City" by the National Civic League in June 2006. The city was also named number 61 on the 2006 list of the top 100 places to live in the United States by Money Magazine[5].
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[edit] History
Longmont was founded in 1871 by a group of Chicagoans who had decided to found a new town in Colorado. Originally called the Chicago-Colorado Colony, the men sold memberships in the town and with the proceeds purchased the land necessary for the town. As the first planned community in Boulder County, the city streets were laid out in a grid plan in a square mile. The city began to flourish as an agricultural community after the building of the Colorado Central Railroad line arrived northward from Boulder in 1877. In the 1940s the city began to grow beyond these original limits. In the 1960s the federal government located an air-traffic control center in town and IBM built a large plant near the city. As agriculture waned, more high technology has come to the city especially in the computer hard drive industry including companies like Seagate and Maxtor. The downtown along Main Street, once nearly dead during the 1980s, has seen a vibrant revival in the last decade. In the mid 1990s, the south edge of the city became the location of the first New Urbanist project in Colorado, called Prospect New Town, designed by renowned architect Andres Duany.
- Further information on Longmont's history, see The Official City of Longmont History and the Longmont Museum and Culture Center.
[edit] Geography
Longmont is located at (40.171583, -105.109085)[6]. Elevation is about 1525 meters (approx. 5000 feet) above sea level.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.8 square miles (56.5 km²), of which, 21.8 square miles (56.4 km²) of it is land and 0.05% is water.
Longmont is an exurb of Denver, on U.S. Highway 287. By 2016, it will be the Route 36 Corridor endpoint for the FasTracks commuter rail network.
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1970 | 23,209 |
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| 1980 | 42,942 | 85% | |
| 1990 | 51,555 | 20.1% | |
| 2000 | 71,093 | 37.9% | |
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 71,093 people, 26,667 households, and 18,453 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,262.3 people per square mile (1,259.7/km²). There were 27,394 housing units at an average density of 1,257.0/sq mi (485.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was:
- 84.76% White
- 0.54% African American
- 0.97% Native American
- 1.76% Asian
- 0.06% Pacific Islander
- 9.76% from other races
- 2.2% from two or more races.
- Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.07% of the population.
There were 26,667 households out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $51,174, and the median income for a family was $58,037. Males had a median income of $40,978 versus $29,582 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,409. About 5.9% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Economy
According to the Longmont Area Economic Council[8], the top eleven employers in Longmont are:
- St. Vrain Valley Schools (regional school district) with 3392 employees
- Seagate Technology with 1605
- Longmont United Hospital with 1285 employees
- Amgen with 1183 employees
- Butterball, LLC formerly ConAgra (which operates a turkey processing plant) with 920 employees
- City of Longmont with 860 employees
- Intrado with 697 employees
- Federal Aviation Administration with 547 employees
- McLane Western with 545 employees
- Xilinx with 400 employees
- Crocs with 400 employees
[edit] Notable residents
- Vance D. Brand, former astronaut
- Greg Biekert, professional football player (born in Longmont)
- John R. Kelso, U.S. Representative and author (lived and died in Longmont)
- David Pauley, pitcher for the Red Sox
- Kristen Schaal, comedian and actress, grew up in Longmont[9]
- Dan Schmatz, former professional cyclist[citation needed]
- Dan Simmons, author (1990 Hugo Award winner)[citation needed] (See Ref Note) [10]
[edit] Sister cities
Longmont is a sister city of these municipalities:
[edit] See also
- Boulder County, Colorado
- Boulder Metropolitan Statistical Area
- Colorado municipalities
- Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area
- Front Range Urban Corridor
- Greeley Metropolitan Statistical Area
- List of mayors of Longmont, Colorado
- State of Colorado
- Weld County, Colorado
[edit] References
- ^ a b Active Colorado Municipalities (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
- ^ Colorado Municipal Incorporations (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives (2004-12-01). Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
- ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ ZIP Code Lookup (JavaScript/HTML). United States Postal Service. Retrieved on November 15, 2007.
- ^ [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/snapshots/PL0845970.html CNNMoney: FINALIST Longmont, CO]
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Economic Council: LONGMONT AREA TOP EMPLOYERS
- ^ The Kooky Monster - The Age, March 13, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
- ^ Myth and madness in the frozen north
Note: For Dan Simmons, ref http://www.dansimmons.com/about/bio.htm is for Front Range Colo, not for Longmont.
[edit] External links
- City of Longmont website
- Bestof-Longmont (Directory of locally owned businesses in Longmont)
- InfoLongmont (local community website)
- Longmont Times-Call (local newspaper)
- Think Local First Longmont (Link to locally-owned independent businesses in Longmont)
- Longmont, Colorado is at coordinates Coordinates:
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