Lyons, Colorado
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| Town of Lyons, Colorado | |
| Nickname: Double Gateway to the Rockies[1] | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Colorado |
| County[2] | Boulder |
| Founded | 1880 |
| Platted | 1881 |
| Incorporated (town) | April 10, 1891[3] |
| Founder | Edward S. Lyon |
| Government | |
| - Type | Statutory Town[2] |
| - Mayor | Nick Angelo[4] |
| Area | |
| - Total | 1.2 sq mi (3.2 km²) |
| - Land | 1.2 sq mi (3.2 km²) |
| - Water | 0 sq mi (0 km²) |
| Elevation [5] | 5,371 ft (1,637 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 1,585 |
| - Density | 1,320.8/sq mi (495.3/km²) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| - Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP code[6] | 80540 |
| Area code(s) | 303 & 720 |
| FIPS code | 08-47070 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0178311 |
| Website: Town of Lyons | |
The Town of Lyons is a Statutory Town located in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,585 at the 2000 census. Lyons is located at the confluence of the North St. Vrain Creek and the South St. Vrain Creek, twenty miles (32 km) east of Rocky Mountain National Park. Due to its location at the intersection of State Highway 7 and U.S. Highway 36 which lead to Rocky Mountain National Park, it is sometimes referred to as The Double Gateway to the Rockies.
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[edit] Geography
Lyons is located at (40.223935, -105.269013)[7].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²), all of it land.
[edit] History
While some Ute families lived in the area on occasion, it wasn't until the 1850-1860s that the area was settled permanently by farmers and cattle ranchers. The area was where the North and South St. Vrain Creeks met, and being located where the mountains and flat plains converged, offered them a protected space for good crops.
The town of Lyons, Colorado was founded in 1880 by Edward S. Lyon. He purchased 160 acres (0.6 km²) from H.F. and Isabelle Sawyer, noticed the potential to quarry out the red sandstone, which had easy access due to the outcroppings. He platted the town in 1881. The town was incorporated in 1891.[3] The town's name has an "s" added to the end of it, with no verified reason why.
The town is almost surrounded by large red sandstone mountains. Its sandstone is considered the hardest in the world, and it has a unique red or salmon color. While E. S. Lyon was one of the first people to help set up the quarrying business in the town, it has gone through several owners and new quarry locations over the years, with Murphy and Brodie and Loukonen being the most noteworthy owners. In the late 1800s the quarries got a big boost when a railroad was brought in to haul out the rock.
In 1910-12 the cement industry killed the sandstone industry, and rock production stopped. The only sandstone construction that went on during this period was the new University of Colorado campus.
[edit] Historic Buildings
The Town is active in history preservation, with a strong Historical Society. It helped preserve the 1881 school house (now the history museum) and the old train depot (now the library). It has recorded video interviews of its pioneer families. Lyons has a Designated Historic District, with fifteen sandstone structures which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. These were all constructed of native stone by master craftsmen between the early 1870s and 1917. They include commercial, residential and public buildings:
- Griff Evans Homestead (1870) - Now the site of Rocky Grass and Folks Festivals
- 480 Seward St. (1890) - Chisholm/Truebood Home
- 413 Seward St. (1890) - Cunningham/Weese Home
- 409 Seward St. (1890) - Montgomery Home
- 426 High St. (1884) - Lyons General Store. Now Ralston Bros. Antiques
- NW Corner 4th and High Streets (1894) - Old Stone Church
- NE Corner 4th & High Streets (1881) - Lyons School. Now Redstone Museum
- 427 High St. (1890s) - Dynamite storage building
- 450 Main St. (1881) - McAllister Saloon/Frank Market. Now Cilantro Mary Mexican Kitchen.
- 415 Main St. (1890) - General Store/Kandy Kitchen. Now South Creek Ltd.
- 401 Main St.(1917) - Turner Stevens Building. Now Art Bank.
- 5th & Broadway (1881) - Train Depot. Horse Water Tank (1897)
- S. St. Vrain (1870) - Bradford Homestead. Now Olson Property
- 1/2 Mi. E. on Hwy. 66 (1885) - Sites Milkhouse. Now C. Shepard Gallery.
- 3 Mi. E on Hwy. 66 (1917) - Montgomery School. Now M. Weston home.
[edit] Culture
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[edit] Art
There is one major art event and one permanent art attraction in Lyons. Artique, held in May, is much like an open house for the town's various art galleries. Permanently located throughout the town is the Sculpture Trail, which has 35 artistic pieces of varying design and composition located along a pre-determined path for visitors to survey. In addition, a changing artistic display sits at the main west entrance into the town on US 36. There are also several pieces of permanent sculpture and a public community mural.
Artist Barbara Stone, poet George Moore, authors John Gierach, Ann Ripley, photographer/filmmaker Kenneth Wajda and sculptor John King reside in Lyons.
[edit] Music
Major concerts in Lyons are the three annual music festivals held at Planet Bluegrass; the Rockygrass Bluegrass festival, the Folks Festival folk music festival, and the Festival of the Mabon, a Celtic music festival.[8] A new concert series will begin there in the fall of 2007. In addition, there are sporadic community concerts throughout the year, including concerts in Sandstone park and at Lyons High School.
[edit] Outdoors
Mountain biking, hiking, camping, fly fishing, climbing and excellent class II-V whitewater kayaking. Lyons is also bordered by both Hall Ranch Open Space and Heil Valley Ranch Open Space. Hall Ranch provides over 12 miles of multi-use trails and consists of 3,206 acres (13 km²) of back country. Heil Valley Ranch consists of 4,923 acres (20 km²) of back country. Trails are open to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians.
[edit] Entertainment
The Good Old Days Festival, which began in 1970, takes place in June. It includes crafts, amusement rides, rodeo, old-time baseball, and more.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 1,585 people, 672 households, and 436 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,273.5 people per square mile (493.5/km²). There were 686 housing units at an average density of 551.2/sq mi (213.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.49% White, 0.38% African American, 0.88% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 4.23% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.01% of the population.
There were 672 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the town the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 36.3% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $50,764, and the median income for a family was $58,750. Males had a median income of $45,417 versus $29,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,276. About 6.6% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] See also
- Boulder County, Colorado
- Boulder Metropolitan Statistical Area
- Colorado municipalities
- Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area
- Front Range Urban Corridor
- State of Colorado
[edit] References
- ^ Town of Lyons official site
- ^ a b Active Colorado Municipalities (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
- ^ a b Colorado Municipal Incorporations (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives (2004-12-01). Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
- ^ Town Government (HTML). Town of Lyons. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
- ^ 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 16, 2007.
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ [www.bluegrass.com] Planet Bluegrass
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] See also
- Lyons, Colorado is at coordinates Coordinates:
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