Paonia, Colorado | |
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Paonia's Grand Avenue, looking south | |
![]() Location of Paonia in Delta County, Colorado. | |
Coordinates: 38°52′22″N107°35′45″W / 38.87278°N 107.59583°W | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
County [1] | Delta |
Settled | 1880 |
Incorporated (town) | September 3, 1902 [2] |
Government | |
• Type | Statutory Town [1] |
• State Representative | Marc Catlin |
Area | |
• Total | 0.82 sq mi (2.13 km2) |
• Land | 0.82 sq mi (2.13 km2) |
• Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
Elevation | 5,676 ft (1,730 m) |
Population | |
• Total | 1,447 |
• Density | 1,800/sq mi (680/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
ZIP code [6] | 81428 |
Area code | 970 |
FIPS code | 08-57300 |
GNIS feature ID | 2413109 [4] |
Website | townofpaonia |
Paonia is a statutory town in Delta County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,447 at the 2020 census. [5]
The area was first explored by a white man of European descent in 1853, Captain John W. Gunnison of the United States Army. Gunnison was on an expedition for the Corps of Topographical Engineers to locate a suitable pass through the Rocky Mountains. [7]
The North Fork Valley was inhabited by the Ute people until 1880, when the Ute Indian Reservation was closed by the federal government following the infamous Meeker Massacre.
Following the closure of the reservation, the site was settled in 1880 by Samuel Wade and William Clark, who had accompanied Enos Hotchkiss to the area. The town was officially incorporated in 1902 and had its first election in July of that year. The peony roots that Samuel Wade brought with him to Colorado in 1881 inspired him to submit the Latin name for peony, Paeonia, as a town name. The post office would not allow the extra vowel, so "Paeonia" became "Paonia". The full name of the flower is Paeonia mascula .
Paonia is located in eastern Delta County. It is situated on the North Fork Gunnison River ("North Fork River"), about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of (upstream from) neighboring Hotchkiss. It lies near the head of the North Fork Valley, an area about 150 miles (240 km) by air southwest of Denver. The valley lies at the foot of 11,396-foot (3,474 m) Mount Lamborn to the southeast and the Grand Mesa to the northwest.
Colorado State Highway 133 touches the northwest boundary of Paonia as the highway runs up the North Fork Valley; it leads southwest 9 miles (14 km) to Hotchkiss and northeast 58 miles (93 km) over McClure Pass to Carbondale.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Paonia has a total area of 0.85 square miles (2.2 km2), all of it land. [8]
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1910 | 1,007 | — | |
1920 | 925 | −8.1% | |
1930 | 958 | 3.6% | |
1940 | 1,117 | 16.6% | |
1950 | 1,257 | 12.5% | |
1960 | 1,083 | −13.8% | |
1970 | 1,161 | 7.2% | |
1980 | 1,425 | 22.7% | |
1990 | 1,403 | −1.5% | |
2000 | 1,497 | 6.7% | |
2010 | 1,451 | −3.1% | |
2020 | 1,447 | −0.3% |
The valley's principal coal mines are all now closed except for Arch Coal's West Elk Mine, [9] Bucyrus International, a supplier of underground coal mining equipment, operates a small warehouse in Paonia for support of the underground longwall systems that are operating in the North Fork valley. Union Pacific provides service to the mine, loading 100 car trains in two hours. The most recent mine closure shuttered Bowie #2 Mine.
The community has mounted legal challenges to proposed oil and gas drilling fracking in the surrounding North Fork Valley. [10]
The area around Paonia is known for its orchards which produce peaches, apples, cherries, pears, and plums. [11] In addition, several vineyards and wineries have been established in the area, and are some of the highest wineries in North America. Five of the more well-known wineries are Alfred Eames Winery, Black Bridge Winery, Stone Cottage Cellars, Azura Cellars, and Endless Endeavor Winery. [12] [13] [14] This is one of the few regions of Colorado that has successfully cultivated and bottled a pinot noir. The Paonia wineries are part of the West Elk Wineries Trail and annual Tour held the second week of June.
Some of Colorado's best livestock also comes from this region. The livestock includes cattle, sheep, poultry, and pigs.
The Delta County School District Board of Education decided in February 2021 to close separate high schools in Paonia and Hotchkiss, Colorado, and build a joint high school, North Fork High School, located in Hotchkiss. Both schools have been losing students as coal mines in the area have closed. Kindergarten to 8th grade education will continue in both communities. [15]
The noted Western newspaper, High Country News , is based in Paonia. High Country News reports on the western United States and is focused on the environment, land use, and public lands issues.
Community radio station KVNF was founded in Paonia and continues to have studios in downtown Paonia. KVNF also now serves a number of towns in the North Fork and Uncompaghre valleys in western Colorado through a network of stations and translators. [16]
Paonia does not have a local newspaper. It is served by The North Fork Times, formerly an independent paper and now a section in the Delta County Independent. The area is also served by the monthly North Fork Merchant Herald, published in nearby Hotchkiss. The weekly Mountain Valley News was published in Cedaredge and distributed widely throughout Delta County, but closed in September 2013. Their sister publication, The High Country Shopper, is published in Paonia.
Paonia has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with hot summers and moderately cold winters. On average, Paonia has 246 sunny days per year. [17] Paonia averages 14 inches of rain and 53 inches of snow per year. The average July high is 89 °F and the average January low is 14 °F.
Climate data for Paonia, Colorado (1930–1957) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 38.6 (3.7) | 42.4 (5.8) | 50.4 (10.2) | 60.9 (16.1) | 70.8 (21.6) | 81.5 (27.5) | 88.9 (31.6) | 86.7 (30.4) | 78.8 (26.0) | 67.0 (19.4) | 51.1 (10.6) | 41.0 (5.0) | 63.2 (17.3) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 14.4 (−9.8) | 17.9 (−7.8) | 24.9 (−3.9) | 33.4 (0.8) | 40.6 (4.8) | 47.0 (8.3) | 53.4 (11.9) | 51.7 (10.9) | 44.9 (7.2) | 35.5 (1.9) | 23.7 (−4.6) | 16.6 (−8.6) | 33.7 (0.9) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.33 (34) | 1.30 (33) | 1.13 (29) | 1.56 (40) | 0.99 (25) | 0.71 (18) | 0.86 (22) | 1.21 (31) | 1.16 (29) | 1.36 (35) | 1.08 (27) | 1.32 (34) | 14.02 (356) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 13.7 (35) | 11.3 (29) | 7.6 (19) | 3.2 (8.1) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.5 (1.3) | 5.5 (14) | 10.8 (27) | 52.8 (134) |
Source: WRCC [18] |
Paonia celebrates its "Cherry Days" festival annually on the week of July 4. It features parades, family and class reunions, games, arts and crafts, and musical performances. Paonia Cherry Days is one of the longest running outdoor festivals in Colorado. Started by the Paonia Lions Club in 1946, the festival continues to be run by community volunteers.
The Mountain Harvest Festival is a three-day event in downtown Paonia held during the last weekend of September. There are over 20 musical acts, poetry, an art show, a chili cook off, a street dance, crafts, wine tasting, as well as classes on canning, raising livestock, and sustainable living.
Paonia usually hosts an annual rally for BMW motorcycle enthusiasts, who descend upon the town in mid-summer and stay for several days. This location permits riders to see the beautiful Black Canyon of the Gunnison and challenges them to navigate through winding canyon and mountain roads. It is one of the more desirable rides and locations in Colorado.
In 1992 the annual Rainbow Gathering was held at nearby Overland Reservoir. An estimated 18,275 people converged on the site and lived in temporary dwellings for the summer. Although the reservoir is 27 miles (43 km) from Paonia, it had a significant impact on all the towns in the North Fork Valley, including Paonia. Many "New Agers" and members of the psychedelic community continue to reside in and around Paonia, which was the boyhood home of one of the voices and key figures of "ecstatic state" knowledge, Terence McKenna.
The Paradise Theater in downtown Paonia hosts a biennial film festival. The Paonia Film Festival celebrates the beauty of the Western Colorado landscape and the rich stories of the people who live there.
The 2021 Paonia Film Festival shifted to showcase filmmakers local to the Western Slope of Colorado and filmmakers through the Western United States on a two-tier system. Its event dates are November 6–7, 2021.
The town has live music in the park every Thursday evening during the month of August. [19]
Delta County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,196. The county seat is Delta.
Delta is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Delta County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 9,035 at the 2020 United States Census. The United States Forest Service headquarters of the Grand Mesa, Gunnison, and Uncompahgre National Forests are located in Delta.
Hotchkiss is a statutory town in Delta County, Colorado, United States. The population was 875 at the 2020 census.
Crested Butte is a home rule municipality located in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,639 at the 2020 United States Census. A former coal mining town nestled in the Slate River Valley, Crested Butte is now known as a destination for skiing, mountain biking, and outdoor activities.
The Western Slope is a colloquial term generally understood to describe the part of the state of Colorado west of the Continental Divide. Bodies of water west of the Divide flow toward the Pacific Ocean; water that falls and flows east of the Divide heads east toward the Gulf of Mexico. The Western Slope encompasses about 33% of the state, but has just 10% of the state's residents. The eastern part of the state, including the San Luis Valley and the Front Range, is the more populous portion of the state.
The Crystal River is a tributary of the Roaring Fork River. It is approximately 40 miles (64 km) long and is located in Gunnison, Pitkin and Garfield counties in Colorado, United States.
The Sevier River is a 400-mile (640 km)-long river in the Great Basin of southwestern Utah in the United States. Originating west of Bryce Canyon National Park, the river flows north through a chain of high farming valleys and steep canyons along the west side of the Sevier Plateau before turning southwest and terminating in the endorheic basin of Sevier Lake in the Sevier Desert. It is used extensively for irrigation along its course, with the consequence that Sevier Lake is usually dry.
The North Fork Gunnison River is a tributary of the Gunnison River, 33.5 miles (53.9 km) long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. It drains part of the southwestern flank of the Elk Mountains northeast of Delta.
McClure Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of western Colorado in the United States. It is located along the boundary between Pitkin and Gunnison counties, in a gap at the western side of the Elk Mountains. The pass is at an elevation of 8,755 feet (2,669 m)) and separates the headwaters of the Crystal River to the east with the headwaters of the North Fork Gunnison River to the west. The pass is named in honor of Thomas "Mack" McClure who in the late 19th Century owned a large house at the eastern base of the pass. The house served as a stage stop where McClure fed and lodged travelers.
Mount Lamborn is a mountain summit in the West Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 11,402-foot (3,475 m) peak is located in Gunnison National Forest, 5.9 miles (9.5 km) southeast by south of the Town of Paonia in Delta County, Colorado, United States. The summit of Mount Lamborn is the highest point in Delta County. Together with nearby Landsend Peak to the southwest, it lies at the western edge of the West Elks, rising dramatically nearly 6,000 ft above the valley of the North Fork Gunnison River to the west.
The West Elk Mountains are a high mountain range in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Colorado. They lie primarily within the Gunnison National Forest, and part of the range is protected as the West Elk Wilderness. The range is primarily located in Gunnison County, with small parts in eastern Delta and Montrose counties.
The Lake Fork of the Gunnison River begins in high mountains in the western region of Colorado, United States, draining the northeastern part of the San Juan Mountains.
West Elks is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Delta County on the Western Slope of Colorado within the North Fork Valley surrounding the towns of Cedaredge, Hotchkiss and Paonia. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) effective May 7, 2001 and is the latest of the two registered viticultural areas in the "Centennial State." The viticultural area takes its name from the nearby West Elk Mountains. The area is located on mesa lands with 48,405 acres (76 sq mi) expanding along the North Fork Gunnison River from the historic mining town of Bowie, through Paonia and Hotchkiss. Its borders are the West Elk Range to the east and the higher Grand Mesa to the north. To the south, Crawford and Fruitland Mesa have higher elevations and the plateau climbs until it reaches the north rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison. To the west lies the barren Adobe Badlands which has little plant growth. State Highway 133 bisects the AVA in a north–south direction. The high-altitude vineyards are situated mostly at 5,400 to 6,400 feet (1,600–2,000 m) above sea level. The USDA plant hardiness zone is 7a.
Grand Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) within Mesa County, Colorado located in a high-altitude river valley surrounding the county seat of Grand Junction and stretching 24 miles (39 km) east-west between the municipalities of Palisade and Fruita. It lies approximately 200 miles (320 km) west-southwest of Denver along Interstate 70. The river valley encompasses 75,990 acres (118.73 sq mi), with an average elevation between 4,000 and 5,000 feet (1,200–1,500 m) above sea level and is defined by an irrigated agricultural area served by canals in the Grand Valley of the Colorado River. Grand Valley AVA was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on December 26, 1991, upon the petition submitted by Mr. James Seewald of Vintage Colorado Cellars Winery, and the first viticultural area registered in the Centennial State. In 2001, the smaller West Elks AVA, located southeast of Grand Valley, became the state's second federally-designated AVA.
State Highway 187 was a highway near Paonia, Colorado.
Crater Peak is the highest summit of Grand Mesa in the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 11,333-foot (3,454 m) peak is located on the drainage divide separating Grand Mesa National Forest and Gunnison National Forest, 12.3 miles (19.8 km) north-northwest of the Town of Paonia in Delta County, Colorado, United States.
Needle Rock Natural Area is located at the western edge of the West Elk Mountains of Colorado. The surrounding terrain is characterized by laccolithic mountains flanked by precipitous cliffs, extensive talus aprons, forested mesas, canyons, and spacious, well-watered intermontane basins. Needle Rock is an intrusive plug of monzonite porphyry cropping out 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east-northeast of the Town of Crawford in Delta County, Colorado, United States. With an elevation of 7,797 feet (2,377 m), the towering rock spire stands 800 feet (240 m) tall above the floor of the Smith Fork of the Gunnison River valley. The massive rock feature originated in the Oligocene geological epoch when magma intruded between existing sedimentary rocks as the crown of a buried laccolith or possibly the underlying conduit of a laccolith. Subsequent erosion has exposed the prominent rock formation seen in the natural area today.
Landsend Peak is a prominent wedge-shaped mountain located in the West Elk Mountains range northeast of Crawford, Colorado. The summit of Landsend Peak has an elevation of 10,806 ft (3,294 m) rising dramatically about 4,000 ft (1,200 m) above the valley below. Together with nearby Mount Lamborn to the northeast, it delineates the western edge of the West Elk Mountains, and the two massifs top out about 1 mile (1.6 km) higher than the adjacent North Fork Gunnison River. Both peaks lie within the Gunnison National Forest near the physiographic boundary of the Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Plateau provinces. Geologically, Landsend Peak and Mount Lamborn are exposed igneous intrusions that geologists call laccoliths.
The West Elk Loop Scenic and Historic Byway is a 205-mile (330 km) National Forest Scenic Byway and Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Delta, Garfield, Gunnison, Montrose, and Pitkin counties Colorado, USA. The byway reaches its zenith at Kebler Pass, elevation 10,007 feet (3,050 m), between Crested Butte and Paonia.
"We're going to have a kindergarten-eighth grade school in Paonia, a kindergarten-eighth grade school in Hotchkiss, and then there will be one high school in Hotchkiss next year."