Fort Collins, Colorado
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:DSCN5380 horsetoothmountainwithhorse e.jpg
Fort Collins, situated on the Cache la Poudre River, is the largest city and county seat of Larimer County, Colorado. It is a large college town (home to Colorado State University) in the north central region of the state, along what is known as the Colorado Front Range. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 118,652.
Contents |
History
Fort Collins was founded as a military outpost of the United States Army in 1864. A previous encampment, known as Camp Collins, on the Cache La Poudre River near present-day Laporte, was destroyed by a flood in June 1864. Afterwards, the commander of the fort wrote to Colonel William O. Collins at Fort Laramie in southeast Wyoming, suggesting that a site several miles further down the Poudre would make a good location for the fort. The fort never had walls.
Settlers began arriving in the vicinity of the fort nearly immediately. The fort was decommissioned in 1868 and the original fort site is now adjacent to the present historic "Old Town" portion of the city. The town was formally incorporated in 1873. Stone quarrying, sugar beet farming, and sheep were among the areas's earliest industries. Fort Collins is home to Colorado State University, Colorado's original land-grant college (formerly known as Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College). Other large employers include Hewlett-Packard, Poudre Valley Health System, and Poudre School District. For more information on local history see the Fort Collins Public Library's local historical archives. http://library.ci.fort-collins.co.us/.
Geography
Image:COMap-doton-FortCollins.PNG Fort Collins is located at 40°33'33" North, 105°4'41" West (40.559238, -105.078302)Template:GR. The city is situated just east of the Rocky Mountain foothills of the Northern Front Range approximately 70 miles north of Denver, Colorado. Prominent geographic landmarks include Horsetooth Reservoir and Horsetooth Mountain- so named because of a tooth shaped granite rock that dominates the city's western skyline.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 122.1 km² (47.1 mi²). 120.5 km² (46.5 mi²) of it is land and 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.27% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 118,652 people, 45,882 households, and 25,785 families residing in the city. The population density was 984.4/km² (2,549.3/mi²). There were 47,755 housing units at an average density of 396.2/km² (1,026.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.63% White, 1.02% Black or African American, 0.60% Native American, 2.48% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 3.61% from other races, and 2.53% from two or more races. 8.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Fort Collins is home to four major high schools. They include Fort Collins High School, Rocky Mountain High School, Poudre High School, and Fossil Ridge High School. Fossil Ridge is currently in its second year. The educational system is run by Poudre School District.
Image:DSCN5499 fortcollinshighschool e.jpg
There were 45,882 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.8% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 22.1% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 100.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,459, and the median income for a family was $59,332. Males had a median income of $40,856 versus $28,385 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,133. 14.0% of the population and 5.5% of families were below the poverty line. 8.3% of those under the age of 18 and 5.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
The largest employer in Fort Collins is Colorado State University. Other major employers in Fort Collins include Hewlett Packard, Anheuser-Busch, Poudre Valley Hospital, Poudre School District, and Avago Technologies, formerly HP's components spinoff Agilent Technologies.
Culture
Image:Fort Collins Brewfest 2004.jpg Much of Fort Collins' culture is centered around the students of Colorado State University. Driven by a large college-age demographic, the city has a thriving local music circuit, and is home to a number of well-recognized microbreweries. Old Town, a historic down-town shopping district, hosts a number of large festivals each year. For example, the New West Fest occurs in late summer, featuing local cuisine, music, and businesses. The Lincoln Center is home to the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra and regularly attracts national touring companies of Broadway plays. Beyond the city limits, the Fort Collins Balloon Festival attracts hot air balloon enthusiasts from around the world.
There is a thriving beer culture in the city. In addition to an Anheuser-Busch brewery — operating just north of the city since 1984 — there are three microbreweries, the New Belgium Brewing Company, the Odell Brewing Company, and the Fort Collins Brewery. New Belgium is the largest of the local microbreweries, with regional distribution west of the Mississippi. There are several brewpubs, including the original C.B. & Potts Restaurant and its Big Horn Brewery; CooperSmith's Pub & Brewing, a local mainstay since 1989; and one of Conor O'Neill's Irish Pub & Restaurant's three locations. The Colorado Brewer's Festival is held in late June annually in Fort Collins. The outdoor event is held in Fort Collins' old town area and features beers from as many as 45 brewers from the state of Colorado and averages around 30,000 attendees.
Facilities
- Transmitter of WWVB
- Poudre Valley Hospital
- The National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP)
Notable people from Fort Collins
- Jeremy Bloom, Olympic skier, model and former Colorado Buffaloes wide reciever and punt returner
- Jeff D'Agostino, actor who has guest-starred on CSI, Veronica Mars, Weeds
- Jon Heder, title character in 2004's Napoleon Dynamite
- Jake Lloyd, Anakin Skywalker in 1999's Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- Thomas Sutherland, Colorado State University professor and former Beirut hostage
- Ryan Sutter, bachelor chosen as a groom by Trista Rehn in 2003's "The Bachelorette"
External links
- Fort Collins City Government
- Fort Collins Coloradoan
- Fort Collins Community Portal
- Colorado State University
- 3.7 Gigapixel aerial photo (much higher res than Terraserver)
de:Fort Collins (Colorado) fr:Fort Collins (Colorado) nl:Fort Collins ja:フォート・コリンズ (コロラド州) pt:Fort Collins sv:Fort Collins