Jackson County, Colorado
Encyclopedia : J : JA : JAC : Jackson County, Colorado
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2000, the population is 1,577. The county seat is Walden.
History
Most of Jackson County is a high relatively broad intermontane basin known as North Park which covers 1613 square miles. This basin opens north into Wyoming and is rimmed on the west by the Park Range, on the south by the Rabbit Ears Range, and on the east by the Medicine Bow Mountains. Elevations ranges from 7,800 to 12,953 feet above sea level and is home to the head waters of the North Platte River. The term park is derived from parc, the French word for game preserve. At one time North Park was filled with herds of deer, antelope and buffalo. As a matter of fact there were so many buffalo in the area the Ute Indians gave North Park the name "Bull Pen". Now deer, elk and cattle vie for the same area.In November of 1861 Colorado set up 17 counties for the state, with Larimer County as one of these. This was where county Jackson County would be carved out of in 1909. But before then both Grand and Larimer Counties claimed the North Park area. In the beginning no one paid much attention to North Park because it was the hunting grounds of the Ute and Arapaho Indians. They fiercely defended these lands and the white settlers were often afraid to venture in. When valuable minerals were discovered in North Park, Grand County claimed it as part of their county because they wanted the revenue it would provide. The residents didn't care much because the county seat for Grand County was closer than the one in Larimer County, and all official business needed to be done at the county seat. But Larimer also claimed this county and it was contested all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court. In 1886 the court decided in favor of Larimer. This did not make the North Park residents very happy and they pushed for their own county until Jackson was formed.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,198 km² (1,621 mi²). 4,178 km² (1,613 mi²) of it is land and 20 km² (8 mi²) of it (0.48%) is water.Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 1,577 people, 661 households, and 442 families residing in the county. The population density was 0/km² (1/mi²). There were 1,145 housing units at an average density of 0/km² (1/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.20% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 1.46% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. 6.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 661 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 28.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 5.40% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 29.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $31,821, and the median income for a family was $37,361. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $18,417 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,826. About 10.30% of families and 14.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.50% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.
Cities and towns
Unincorporated communities
Former Towns
- Brownlee
- Hebron
- Old Homestead
- Owl
- Pearl
- Spicer
- Teller City
- Zirkel
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