Longmont, Colorado

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Longmont, Colorado
Home Rule Municipality
Longmont Safety and Justice Center
Longmont Safety and Justice Center
Flag of Longmont, Colorado
Flag
Location of Longmont in Boulder County and Weld County, Colorado
Location of Longmont in Boulder County and Weld County, Colorado
Coordinates: 40°10′18″N 105°6′33″W / 40.17167°N 105.10917°W / 40.17167; -105.10917Coordinates: 40°10′18″N 105°6′33″W / 40.17167°N 105.10917°W / 40.17167; -105.10917
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
Counties[1]Boulder County
Weld County
Founded1871
IncorporatedNovember 15, 1885[2]
Named forStephen Harriman Long and Longs Peak
Government
 • TypeHome Rule Municipality[1]
 • MayorBrian Bagley (List)
Area
 • Total30.40 sq mi (78.74 km2)
 • Land28.76 sq mi (74.49 km2)
 • Water1.64 sq mi (4.26 km2)
Elevation4,984 ft (1,519 m)
Population
 • Total86,270
 • Estimate 
(2019)[6]
97,261
 • Density3,381.70/sq mi (1,305.70/km2)
Time zoneUTC−7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)
ZIP codes[7]
80501-80504
Area code(s)303/720
FIPS code08-45970
GNIS feature ID0202560
Websitewww.ci.longmont.co.us

Longmont is a Home Rule Municipality in Boulder and Weld counties of the U.S. state of Colorado. Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder and 33 miles (53 km) north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.

Longmont's population was 86,270 at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census.[8] 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 "montagne" for mountain.[9]

History[edit]

Longmont was founded in 1871 by a group of people from Chicago, Illinois. Originally called the Chicago-Colorado Colony, the men sold memberships in the town, purchasing the land necessary for the town hall with the proceeds. As the first planned community in Boulder County, the city streets were laid out in a grid plan within 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. During the 1940s, Longmont began to grow beyond these original limits.

In 1925, the Ku Klux Klan gained control of Longmont 's City Council in an election. They began construction of a large pork-barrel project, Chimney Rock Dam, above Lyons and marched up and down Main Street in their costumes. In the 1927 election they were voted out of office, and their influence soon declined. Work on Chimney Rock Dam was abandoned as unfeasible, and its foundations are still visible in the St. Vrain River.

During the 1960s, the federal government built an air route traffic control center in Longmont, and IBM built a manufacturing and development campus near Longmont. As agriculture waned, more high technology has come to the city, including companies like Seagate and Amgen; Amgen closed its Longmont campus in 2015. In April 2009, the GE Energy Company relocated its control solutions business to the area.

The downtown along Main Street, once nearly dead during the 1980s, has seen a vibrant revival in the 1990s and into the 21st century. During the mid-1990s, the southern edge of Longmont became the location of the first New Urbanist project in Colorado, called Prospect New Town, designed by the architects Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk.

Longmont was the site of Colorado's first library though it lasted up to a year before its collection of 300 books was lost. Following this, Longmont also was the site of one of Carnegie's libraries with the single-story structure being opened in 1913. It remained open until August 7, 1972 when, due to overcrowding with approximately 22,000 books within the space, it was closed just a week before the new library that had been constructed next door was opened.[10]

In May 2013, the Longmont City Council voted to finance and build out its own municipal gigabit data fiber-optic network to every house and business over a three-year period starting in late 2013.

Further information on Longmont's history, see The Official City of Longmont History and the Longmont Museum & Cultural Center.

Geography[edit]

Longmont is located in northeastern Boulder County at 40°10′18″N 105°06′33″W / 40.171583°N 105.109085°W / 40.171583; -105.109085.[11] The city extends eastward into western Weld County. U.S. Highway 287 (Main Street) runs through the center of the city, leading north 16 miles (26 km) to Loveland and south 34 miles (55 km) to downtown Denver. State Highway 119 passes through the city south of downtown and leads southwest 15 miles (24 km) to Boulder and east 5 miles (8 km) to Interstate 25.

The elevation at City Hall is 4,978 feet (1,517 m) above sea level. St. Vrain Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River, flows through the city just south of the city center.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Longmont has a total area of 27.6 square miles (71.6 km2), of which 26.2 square miles (67.8 km2) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.8 km2), or 5.30%, is water.[8]

Demographics[edit]

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1880773—
18901,54399.6%
19002,20142.6%
19104,25693.4%
19205,84837.4%
19306,0293.1%
19407,40622.8%
19508,0999.4%
196011,48941.9%
197023,209102.0%
198042,94285.0%
199051,55520.1%
200071,09337.9%
201086,27021.3%
2019 (est.)97,261[6]12.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[12]

As of the census[13] of 2010, there were 86,270 people living in the city (2019 estimate: 97,261). The population density was 3,294 people per square mile. There were 35,008 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was:

There were 33,551 households, 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 28.6% under the age of 20, 6.3% from 20 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years.

The median income for a household in the city was $58,698, and the median income for a family was $70,864. Males had a median income of $51,993 versus $41,025 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,209. About 11.1% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

In 2011 Longmont was rated the 2nd safest city in Colorado.[14]

Education[edit]

Longmont is home to the Boulder County Campus of Front Range Community College, the St. Vrain Valley School District, and to a number of private schools. Longmont is also home to the Master Instructor Continuing Education Program (MICEP) a voluntary accreditation program for aviation educators.

There is also a municipal public library. As of 2019 there was deliberation over whether to establish a library district and to have the library publish news. That year the library's director stated, in the words of Corey Hutchins of the Columbia Journalism Review, "lacks resources and hasn't kept up with the city's growth".[15]

Transportation[edit]

Longmont is part of the RTD transit district that provides local and regional bus service to Denver and Boulder.

Outside of RTD, Longmont is connected to Fort Collins, Loveland, and Berthoud via a FLEX regional bus service.

In 2012, Longmont was recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a silver-level bicycle-friendly community. Longmont is one of 38 communities in the United States to be recognized with this distinction. It is the only city in Colorado placed at the silver level that is not a major tourist center or a university city.[16]

Media[edit]

Main article: Media in Longmont, Colorado

The Longmont Leader (formerly the Longmont Observer)[17] is the local daily newspaper.

The Longmont Times-Call while bearing the city's name is published from Boulder and is operated by Alden Global Capital of New York City.[18]

Longmont's radio stations include KRCN, KGUD, and KKFN. Sports radio is broadcast on KKSE-FM from a tower about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Longmont. Also located nearby is KDFD, a Fox News Radio affiliate with a conservative talk format. The KDFD (760 AM) transmitter site is about 15 miles (24 km) east of Boulder.

NPR programming can be heard on Colorado Public Radio stations KCFR from Denver, and KCFC (AM) in Boulder. The NPR affiliate KUNC from the Fort Collins-Greeley market can also be heard in Longmont.

Longmont is also served by Pacifica Radio affiliate KGNU, a non-commercial community radio station from Boulder.

Economy[edit]

Downtown Longmont is home to many local businesses.

According to the Longmont Area Economic Council,[19] the top ten employers in Longmont are:

In addition, Longmont supports a thriving craft brewing industry as well as many recreational and travel-related businesses. Local breweries include two of the nation's largest craft brewers,[20] Left Hand and Oskar Blues, as well as 300 Suns, Bootstrap, Collision, Großen Bart, Shoes & Brews, Pumphouse, and Wibby Brewing.[21] To service the transportation needs of brewery patrons, the local Brew Hop Trolley offers a hop-on-hop-off brewery tour for a fixed price. The trolley, which is actually just a motorized vehicle, returns to each brewery on its route approximately every hour during its operating hours on weekends. Longmont is known for its 'maker' community[22] and includes businesses such as Colorado Aromatics Skin Care, Magic Fairy Candles, Robin Chocolates and Haystack Mountain Cheese. Longmont also features a Saturday Farmers Market.

Due to its proximity to the Rocky Mountain National Park, Longmont is home to many hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that cater in part to the tourists visiting the park each year. One recreational business that calls Longmont home is Mile Hi Skydiving, which is one of the largest skydiving facilities in the state of Colorado. Longmont is also home to Saul, the World's Largest Sticker Ball,[23] at StickerGiant, a custom sticker and label printing company on the city's east side. TinkerMill, the largest makerspace in the region, is located in Longmont. Other businesses support skiing and other snowsports, bicycling, and rock climbing.

Government[edit]

This is a list of mayors of Longmont.[24]

Central Presbyterian Church at 402 Kimbark in Longmont
Longmont Public Library
Reservoir west of Longmont
Longmont Performing Arts Center
Former St. Stephen's Church (1881) now houses the St. Vrain Historical Society in Longmont.
Mayor Term
L. H. Dickson 1881–1885
George T. Dell 1885–1887
Charles H. Baker 1887–1888
John B. Thompson 1888–1889
Ira L. Herron 1889–1890
Frank Stickney 1890–1892
John A. Buckley 1892–1894
Neil C. Sullivan 1894–1896
George W. Coffin 1896–1897
Willis A. Warner 1897–1898
Frank M. Downer 1898–1899
Frank M. Miller 1899–1901
John A. Donovan 1901–1903
Samuel C. Morgan 1903–1905
Charles A. Bradley 1905–1909
Frank P. Secor 1909–1911
Rae H. Kiteley 1911–1921
James F. Hays 1921–1927
Fred W. Flanders 1927–1929
Earl T. Ludlow 1929–1931
Ray Lanyon 1931–1943
Fred C. Ferguson 1943–1947
George A. Richart 1947–1949
Otto F. Vliet 1949–1957
Richard C. Troxell 1957–1959
Albert Will 1959–1961
Ralph R. Price 1961–1969
Alexander Zlaten 1969–1971 Pro Tem
Wade Gaddis 1971–1973 Pro Tem
Austin P. Stonebreaker 1973–1974
Alvin G. Perenyi 1975–1977
George F. Chandler 1977 Pro Tem
E. George Patterson Jr. 1977–1979
Robert J. Askey 1979–1981
William G. Swenson 1981–1985
Larry Burkhardt 1985–1987
Alvin E. Sweney 1987–1989
Fred Wilson 1989–1993
Leona Stoecker 1993–2001
Julia Pirnack 2001–2007
Roger Lange 2007–2009
Bryan L. Baum 2009–2011
Dennis L. Coombs 2011–2017
Brian Bagley 2017–Present
Parker McDonald's "Ursa Major" is part of the City of Longmont's Art in Public Places program.

Notable people[edit]

Sister cities[edit]

Longmont is a sister city of these municipalities:

Japan Chino, Nagano, Japan

Mexico Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, Mexico

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
  2. ^ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
  3. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  5. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on November 4, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2007.
  8. ^ a b "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Longmont city, Colorado". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  9. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 190.
  10. ^ "Longmont Carnegie Library". Colorado Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Staff. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  11. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  12. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  13. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  14. ^ http://www.timescall.com/ci_19618937?source%253Dmost_viewed.20F88DA3D7D369F5BB70F372987EAE1F.html
  15. ^ Hutchins, Corey (May 10, 2019). "Should a Colorado library publish local news?". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  16. ^ Wegrzyn, Magdalena. "Longmont More Bike-Friendly Than Ever". Longmont Times Call Newspaper. Longmont Times Call Newspaper. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  17. ^ "Welcome to the Longmont Leader". Longmont Leader. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  18. ^ "Longmont Daily Times-Call". Longmont Times-Call. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  19. ^ Longmont Area Economic Council (March 2015). "LONGMONT AREA TOP EMPLOYERS" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015.
  20. ^ "Top 50 Breweries of 2016". Brewers Association. March 15, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  21. ^ http://www.visitlongmont.org
  22. ^ "Local Makers". Visit Longmont, Colorado. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  23. ^ "Longmont favorite son Saul the sticker ball sets Guinness World Record". Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  24. ^ "Mayors of Longmont since 1881". City of Longmont. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  25. ^ "Looking back at Colorado's best". Denver Post. November 30, 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  26. ^ "Astronaut Bio: V.D. Brand". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. April 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  27. ^ "KELSO, John Russell". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  28. ^ "David Pauley Stats, Bio, Photos, Highlights". Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  29. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 23 February 2019
  30. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 23 February 2019
  31. ^ The Kooky Monster – The Age, March 13, 2008. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.
  32. ^ Evans, Clay (February 7, 2007). "Myth and madness in the frozen north". Boulder Daily Camera. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  33. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 23 February 2019

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Longmont,_Colorado&oldid=984804978"