Greeley, Colorado
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Greeley is a city located in Weld County, Colorado. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 76,930. It is the county seat of Weld CountyTemplate:GR.
Contents |
Geography
Image:COMap-doton-Greeley.PNG Greeley is located at 40°24'54" North, 104°43'26" West (40.415119, -104.723988)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 77.7 km² (30.0 mi²). 77.4 km² (29.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.30% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 76,930 people, 27,647 households, and 17,694 families residing in the city. The population density was 993.4/km² (2,572.5/mi²). There were 28,972 housing units at an average density of 374.1/km² (968.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.40% White, 0.87% African American, 0.83% Native American, 1.15% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 13.77% from other races, and 2.84% from two or more races. 29.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 27,647 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 19.0% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,414, and the median income for a family was $45,904. Males had a median income of $32,800 versus $24,691 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,775. 16.9% of the population and 10.1% of families were below the poverty line. 18.4% of those under the age of 18 and 9.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
History
Latham
Greeley is located in (or just west of) the area previously occupied by the Overland Trail station of Latham (originally called the Cherokee City Station). The Latham station (also known as Fort Latham) was built in 1862 and named in honor of Milton S. Latham, one of California's early senators. The stagecoach station was at the confluence of the South Platte River and the Cache la Poudre River. The web site www.Over-Land.com describes it as "probably the most important and busiest facility on the Overland Trail" (since it was a river crossing and a junction point for the spur of the Trail south to Denver). It is believed that here occurred the birth of the first white child born in Colorado, a girl. Fort Latham was the headquarters of the government troops during the Indian troubles of 1860-64 and the county seat (the post office being called Latham).
Union Colony
The official town of Greeley was originally organized as the Union Colony in 1869 as an experimental utopian community of "high moral standards" by Nathan C. Meeker, a newspaper reporter from New York City. Meeker purchased a site at the confluence of the Cache la Poudre and South Platte Rivers (that included the area of Latham, an Overland Trail station), half-way between Cheyenne and Denver along the tracks of the Denver Pacific Railroad formerly known as the "Island Grove Ranch." The name Union Colony was later changed to Greeley in honor of Horace Greeley (who was Meeker's editor at the New York Tribune).
In recent years, the fact that Sayyid Qutb (one of those who laid the intellectual groundwork for the 9/11 attacks) claimed to derive much of his anti-Americanism from his perception of Greeley as a hotbed of moral debauchery (when he visited the Colorado State College of Education there in the 1940s) has achieved a certain notoriety.
Schools
Greeley's public schools lie in Weld County School District 6. Weld 6 consists of 17 elementary schools (Cameron, Centennial, Chappelow, Dos Rios, East Memorial, Heiman, Jackson, Jefferson, S. Christa McAuliffe, Madison, Billie Martinez, Meeker, Monfort, Romero, Scott, Shawsheen, Winograd), 5 middle schools (Brentwood, Franklin, Heath, John Evans, Maplewood), and 3 high schools (Greeley Central, Greeley West, Northridge). There are also 3 charter schools (University Schools, Frontier Academy, Union Colony Preparatory School).
Greeley is also home to Aims Community College and the University of Northern Colorado.
External links
- Greeley Tribune
- The Overland Trail
- University of Northern Colorado
- Aims Community College
- Greeley Website Directory
