Ridgway, Colorado | |
---|---|
Approaching Ridgway on Highway 62 | |
Nickname(s): Gateway to the San Juans, The Town That Refused to Die | |
![]() Location of Ridgway in Ouray County, Colorado. | |
Coordinates: 38°09′32″N107°45′02″W / 38.15889°N 107.75056°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Colorado |
County [1] | Ouray County |
Incorporated (town) | April 2, 1891 [2] |
Named for | Robert M. Ridgway |
Government | |
• Type | Home rule municipality [1] |
• Mayor | John I. Clark[ citation needed ] |
• Town Manager | Preston Neill[ citation needed ] |
• State Representative | Marc Catlin [3] |
Area | |
• Total | 1.85 sq mi (4.79 km2) |
• Land | 1.85 sq mi (4.79 km2) |
• Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
Elevation | 6,962 ft (2,122 m) |
Population | |
• Total | 1,183 |
• Density | 640/sq mi (250/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
ZIP code [7] | 81432 |
Area code | 970 |
FIPS code | 08-64200 |
GNIS feature ID | 2412551 [5] |
Website | townofridgway |
The Town of Ridgway is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The town is a former railroad stop on the Uncompahgre River in the northern San Juan Mountains. The town population was 1,183 at the 2020 census. [6]
Steep forested mountains and cliffs surround Ridgway on the south, east, and northeast. The Uncompahgre River runs through the town and flows into the Ridgway State Park and Reservoir, to the north. Dallas Creek also flows from the south-west and forms a confluence with the Uncompahgre before entering the reservoir. There is a notable wildlife presence — mountain lions, badgers, deer, elk, bears, coyotes, wild turkey, and bald eagles are indigenous to the area. The region's bald eagles nest in the cottonwoods along the river and are a common sight in the late fall.
Ridgway and the surrounding area have featured prominently in pop culture. Most notably the area is the setting of John Wayne's western movie True Grit , and others including How the West Was Won and Tribute to a Bad Man . Ridgway has the only stoplight in Ouray County, at the intersection of Highways 550 and 62. [8]
Ridgway began as a railroad town, serving the nearby mining towns of Telluride and Ouray.
The town site is at the northern terminus of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad where it meets with Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad running between Montrose and Ouray. Ridgway was located about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the existing town of Dallas. Articles of incorporation were filed on May 22, 1890, and granted on March 4, 1891. This "Gateway to the San Juans" position was recognized over 100 years ago when the Rio Grande Southern established Ridgway as a railhead center servicing the nearby mining towns of Ouray and Telluride. The town was named for Denver and Rio Grande railroad superintendent Robert M. Ridgway, who established the town in 1891. [9]
The Rio Grande Southern filed for abandonment on April 24, 1952, and the Denver and Rio Grande Western abandoned the line between Ridgway and Ouray on March 21, 1953. The line between Ridgway and Montrose was upgraded from narrow gauge to standard gauge and Ridgway continued to be a shipping point until the line to Montrose was abandoned in 1976 as result of a reservoir being built on the Uncompahgre River.
The dam for that reservoir, the Ridgway Dam, was proposed in 1957 as part of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Dallas Creek Project, and its original location would have inundated Ridgway. A 1975 decision to put the dam further downstream kept the town above-water, and residents coined their own nickname, "The Town that Refused to Die." [10] Land around the reservoir became the Ridgway State Park north of town limits. Ridgway is nationally recognized for being “Mavericks”.
Ridgway is situated in the Uncompahgre Valley at an elevation of 6,985 feet (2,129 m). The town is located on the San Juan Skyway, cradled in the heart of some of the most photographed mountains in the world. The nearby San Juan Mountain Range has 14 of Colorado's 53 peaks over 14,000 feet. [11] Among them, 14,150 feet (4,310 m) Mt. Sneffels is most prominent from Ridgway. The eponymous Mt. Ridgway, 13,468 feet (4,105 m) in height, is also nearby, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west of Ouray. [12] To the east of the town also lies the smaller but equally-grand Cimarron Range, with Uncompahgre Peak at 14,309 feet (4,361 m).
The Uncompahgre River flows from Lake Como at 12,215 feet (3,723 m) in northern San Juan County, in the Uncompahgre National Forest in the northwestern San Juan Mountains is the headwaters of the river. It flows northwest past Ouray, Ridgway, Montrose, and Olathe and joins the Gunnison at Confluence Park in Delta. The river forms Poughkeepsie Gulch and the Uncompahgre Gorge. The major tributaries are all creeks draining the northwest San Juan Mountains. There are two dams on the Uncompahgre River, a small diversion dam in the Uncompahgre Gorge, and Ridgway Dam below Ridgway, which forms Ridgway Reservoir.
The river is used for irrigation in the Uncompahgre Valley. The Uncompahgre is unnavigable, except at high water. The name given to the river comes from the Ute word Uncompaghre, which loosely translates to "dirty water" or "red water spring" and is likely a reference to the many hot springs in the vicinity of Ouray. Lake Otonawanda is the primary source of Ridgway's municipal water. [13]
Ridgway has a humid continental climate (Koppen: Dfb) with four distinct seasons. Summers are usually warm to hot while winter days are cold with nighttime temperatures dropping close to zero. Annual snowfall is heavy, averaging 85 inches (220 cm). [14]
Climate data for Ridgway, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1982–present | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 62 (17) | 65 (18) | 76 (24) | 80 (27) | 89 (32) | 98 (37) | 98 (37) | 96 (36) | 96 (36) | 83 (28) | 74 (23) | 65 (18) | 98 (37) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 53.9 (12.2) | 56.4 (13.6) | 66.7 (19.3) | 73.2 (22.9) | 81.2 (27.3) | 89.5 (31.9) | 92.1 (33.4) | 89.1 (31.7) | 85.6 (29.8) | 77.5 (25.3) | 66.4 (19.1) | 54.9 (12.7) | 92.8 (33.8) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 40.3 (4.6) | 44.0 (6.7) | 52.5 (11.4) | 58.8 (14.9) | 69.7 (20.9) | 81.3 (27.4) | 85.4 (29.7) | 82.3 (27.9) | 75.8 (24.3) | 63.9 (17.7) | 50.7 (10.4) | 39.9 (4.4) | 62.0 (16.7) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 23.4 (−4.8) | 27.9 (−2.3) | 36.3 (2.4) | 42.5 (5.8) | 51.6 (10.9) | 60.3 (15.7) | 65.8 (18.8) | 63.4 (17.4) | 56.0 (13.3) | 44.8 (7.1) | 33.6 (0.9) | 23.8 (−4.6) | 44.1 (6.7) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 6.5 (−14.2) | 11.9 (−11.2) | 20.2 (−6.6) | 26.2 (−3.2) | 33.6 (0.9) | 39.4 (4.1) | 46.3 (7.9) | 44.6 (7.0) | 36.2 (2.3) | 25.7 (−3.5) | 16.4 (−8.7) | 7.6 (−13.6) | 26.2 (−3.2) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | −11.8 (−24.3) | −7.2 (−21.8) | 2.4 (−16.4) | 13.8 (−10.1) | 22.6 (−5.2) | 29.8 (−1.2) | 38.0 (3.3) | 36.7 (2.6) | 24.5 (−4.2) | 12.2 (−11.0) | −3.0 (−19.4) | −12.0 (−24.4) | −17.6 (−27.6) |
Record low °F (°C) | −33 (−36) | −36 (−38) | −21 (−29) | 3 (−16) | 16 (−9) | 19 (−7) | 30 (−1) | 29 (−2) | 14 (−10) | −6 (−21) | −18 (−28) | −26 (−32) | −36 (−38) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.02 (26) | 0.92 (23) | 1.27 (32) | 1.43 (36) | 1.50 (38) | 0.81 (21) | 1.87 (47) | 2.04 (52) | 1.59 (40) | 1.36 (35) | 1.21 (31) | 1.10 (28) | 16.12 (409) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 13.6 (35) | 12.6 (32) | 13.6 (35) | 7.3 (19) | 1.4 (3.6) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.3 (0.76) | 4.4 (11) | 11.4 (29) | 16.4 (42) | 81.0 (206) |
Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 9.9 (25) | 9.5 (24) | 7.1 (18) | 4.5 (11) | 1.3 (3.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 3.6 (9.1) | 7.1 (18) | 9.8 (25) | 13.4 (34) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 6.2 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 4.4 | 10.2 | 11.4 | 7.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 6.7 | 86.4 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 5.8 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 6.1 | 29.5 |
Source 1: NOAA [15] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: National Weather Service [16] |
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1900 | 245 | — | |
1910 | 376 | 53.5% | |
1920 | 400 | 6.4% | |
1930 | 239 | −40.2% | |
1940 | 354 | 48.1% | |
1950 | 209 | −41.0% | |
1960 | 254 | 21.5% | |
1970 | 262 | 3.1% | |
1980 | 369 | 40.8% | |
1990 | 423 | 14.6% | |
2000 | 713 | 68.6% | |
2010 | 924 | 29.6% | |
2020 | 1,183 | 28.0% | |
U.S. Decennial Census |
As of the census of 2010, [17] there were 924 people, 404 households, and 256 families residing in the town. The population density was 462 inhabitants per square mile (178/km2). There were 511 housing units at an average density of 255.5 units per square mile (98.6 units/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 95.5% White, 0.1% (1) African American, 0.6% (6) Native American, 0.8% (7) Asian, 0.8% (7) from other races, and 1.8% (17) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.0% of the population.
There were 404 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.6% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 28.6% from 18 to 44, 37.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $40,903, and the median income for a family was $45,208. Males had a median income of $31,597 versus $26,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,084. About 3.2% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Ridgway is poised on a highway that leads tourists to several other mountain towns of the San Juan region. Ridgway itself is a major tourist town. Ridgway is 37 miles east of Telluride and 10 miles north of the Ouray. The area is also set at the base of the San Juan Mountains providing excellent views especially when viewed from Log Hill Mesa.
The Grammy Award trophy is hand crafted exclusively by John Billings (the 'Grammy Man') and his team of craftsmen at Billings Artworks in Ridgway. [18] The trophies are all hand cast in an alloy called grammium, then hand filed, ground and polished before being plated in 24k gold.
In 2011, in collaboration with Ouray County and the City of Ouray through numerous public meetings and pursuant to a request from the State of Colorado for a "Bottom Up" Economic Development Plan, a county-wide economic development plan was created. Goal 3 of this plan called for participation in statewide efforts to grow and nurture creative industries as an economic development driver for the State. The Goal 3 ("G3") committee was formed and approached the Ridgway Town Council for support and leadership in submitting an application to become a certified Creative District with the State. The City of Ouray, Ouray County and Town of Ridgway volunteers all agreed that the Town of Ridgway would be the applicant for District certification in 2012. 15 awards were issued through Colorado Creative Industries, and Ridgway was one of 5 districts awarded Prospective District status.
The Ridgway Creative District was awarded Prospective Creative District status in 2012 under the State of Colorado legislation, House Bill 11–1031, signed into law by Governor Hickenlooper in 2011. After a year as a Prospective District, on June 26, 2013, Colorado Creative Industries and the Boettcher Foundation announced that the Ridgway Creative District had achieved State-Certified Creative District Designation. [19]
The Sherbino/Cherbeneau/Charbonneau family have been a part of Ridgway since before Ridgway was even incorporated. And their local legacy – The Sherbino – still plays a major role in downtown Ridgway today. In 1877, Louis Sherbino purchased several lots in downtown Ridgway from Samuel Wade. Louis, who was born in Canada but was working in the timber mills in Michigan, moved to Lake City, then Rico, then Colona and finally Ridgway in the late 1800s. On May 21, 1915, rumors that had been circulating were confirmed, as Louis presented an application to the town for permission to erect a "pressed brick veneered building" on Clinton Street and a 6' sidewalk along the Cora Street side. The building turned out to be a theater designed by Gus Kullerstrand of Ouray and it opened to much fanfare on Saturday, September 11, 1915. The newspaper coverage from September 17 says, "Close to 400 people took in the event, all parts of the country being represented by a goodly number of persons. The lineup of rigs and automobiles in front of the building gave the town a citified look." The article went on to mention there was seating for 300, running hot and cold water, and toilets! What is now the Colorado Boy Brewery was part of the theater at the time, accounting for the reported amount of space for seating. The Sherbino family ran the theater for less than a year as another local built a "motion picture business" and most people went there.
The Sherbino building went on to be used as a community center. Local residents gathered there in 1917 to learn that the US had entered WWI. In 1924, many local residents who had come into the region by wagon in the 1870s were invited to the Sherbino to view the movie "The Covered Wagon" which commemorated the adventuresome spirit that lead them here. Since the Sherbino opened, folks have gathered to enjoy Chautauqua-style entertainment such as orchestra performances, melodramas, plays, traveling troupes, and educational events. The building has played host to graduations, public meetings, and was used as a roller rink and (for at least one night) a boxing arena. The exterior had a bit part in the 1968 original movie True Grit that included a false porch built onto the addition on rear of the building. At some point the original interior was split into 2 sections. The section with the original doorway (now Colorado Boy's entrance) served as the post office, a drug store, and the Colorado Yurt Company headquarters. The building interior underwent major renovations in the 1970s, again in the early 1990s, and again in 2018. In August 1991 the Sherbino received designation on the Colorado State Register of Historic Places.
With the support of many local residents, The Ridgway Chautauqua Society (RCS, a Colorado non-profit 501c3) is now a proud owner and steward of two of Ridgway's remaining historic structures - the remodeled Sherbino at 604 Clinton Street, and The 610 Arts Collective at 610 Clinton Street, next door. [20]
Water plays an important part of local Ridgway culture. The town maintains a marina in a northern inlet of the Ridgway Reservoir. During the warm summer months many tourist and locals take advantage of the Ridgway Reservoir, often wakeboarding or enjoying a day at its beach.
The town also features Orvis Hot Springs, a clothing-optional, natural-hot-springs resort near Ridgway with an indoor, clothing-required pool.
The closest airport served by scheduled airlines is Montrose Regional Airport, located 28 miles north. Ridgway is part of Colorado's Bustang network. It is on the Durango-Grand Junction Outrider line. [26]
The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized and figured in the gold and silver mining industry of early Colorado. Major towns, all old mining camps, include Creede, Lake City, Silverton, Ouray, and Telluride. Large scale mining has ended in the region, although independent prospectors still work claims throughout the range. The last large-scale mines were the Sunnyside Mine near Silverton, which operated until late in the 20th century, and the Idarado Mine on Red Mountain Pass, which closed in the 1970s. Famous old San Juan mines include the Camp Bird and Smuggler Union mines, both located between Telluride and Ouray.
Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains. The first gold mining claim was made in the mountains above Telluride in 1875, and early settlement of what is now Telluride followed. The town was founded in 1878.
San Miguel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,072. The county seat is Telluride. The county is named for the San Miguel River.
Ouray County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,874. The county seat is Ouray. Because of its rugged mountain topography, Ouray County is also known as the "Switzerland of America".
Rico is a town in Dolores County, Colorado, United States. It was settled in 1879 as a silver mining center in the Pioneer Mining District; today it functions as a historic and tourism site. The population was 288 at the 2020 census. Its current form of government is that of a home rule municipality.
Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The main road that leads in and out of Montrose is U.S. Highway 50. The city is located in western Colorado, in the Uncompahgre Valley, and is an economic, labor, and transportation waypoint for the surrounding area. Montrose is the second-largest city in western Colorado, after Grand Junction.
Ouray is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 898 as of the 2020 census. The Ouray Post Office has the ZIP Code 81427. Located at an elevation of 7,792 feet (2,375 m), Ouray's climate, natural alpine environment, and scenery have earned it the nickname "Switzerland of America".
The Uncompahgre River is a tributary of the Gunnison River, approximately 75 mi (121 km) long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. Lake Como at 12,215 ft (3723m) in northern San Juan County, in the Uncompahgre National Forest in the northwestern San Juan Mountains is the headwaters of the river. It flows northwest past Ouray, Ridgway, Montrose, and Olathe and joins the Gunnison at Confluence Park in Delta.
U.S. Route 550 (US 550) is a spur of U.S. Highway 50 that runs from Bernalillo, New Mexico to Montrose, Colorado in the western United States. The section from Silverton to Ouray is frequently called the Million Dollar Highway. It is one of the roads on the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated New Mexico Scenic Byways.
Uncompahgre National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 955,229 acres in parts of Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel, Ouray, Gunnison, Hinsdale, San Juan, and Delta Counties in western Colorado. Its headquarters are in Delta County, in the city of Delta. It borders the San Juan National Forest to the south.
Mount Sneffels is the highest summit of the Sneffels Range in the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 14,158-foot (4315.4 m) fourteener is located in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness of Uncompahgre National Forest, 6.7 miles (10.8 km) west by south of the City of Ouray in Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The summit of Mount Sneffels is the highest point in Ouray County.
The San Juan Skyway Scenic and Historic Byway is a 236-mile (380 km) All-American Road, National Forest Scenic Byway, and Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan, and San Miguel counties, Colorado, United States. The byway forms a loop in southwestern Colorado traversing the heart of the San Juan Mountains. The San Juan Skyway reaches its zenith at Red Mountain Pass at elevation 11,018 feet (3,358 m). Mesa Verde National Park was one of the original UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Silverton Historic District and the Telluride Historic District are National Historic Landmarks.
Dallas Divide is a high mountain pass in the United States state of Colorado located on State Highway 62 about 12 miles (19 km) west of the town of Ridgway.
The Rio Grande Southern Railroad was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge railroad which ran in the southwestern region of the US state of Colorado, from the towns of Durango to Ridgway, routed via Lizard Head Pass. Built by German immigrant and Colorado toll road builder Otto Mears, the RGS operated from 1891 through 1951 and was built with the intent to transport immense amounts of silver mineral traffic that were being produced by the mining communities of Rico and Telluride. On both ends of the railroad, there were interchanges with The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, which would ship the traffic the RGS hauled elsewhere like the San Juan Smelter in Durango.
Ridgway Dam is an earthen dam on the Uncompahgre River which impounds Ridgway Reservoir, located about 6 miles (10 km) north of the town of Ridgway in Ouray County, Colorado. The dam is 332 ft (101 m) high and 2,465 ft (751 m) long, with a capacity of 84,410 acre⋅ft (104,120,000 m3) of water.
U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that travels from West Sacramento, California, to Ocean City, Maryland. In the U.S. state of Colorado, US 50 is a major highway crossing through the lower midsection of the state. It connects the Western Slope with the lower Front Range and the Arkansas Valley. The highway serves the areas of Pueblo and Grand Junction as well as many other smaller areas along its corridor. The long-term project to widen the highway from two lanes to a four lane expressway between Grand Junction and Montrose was completed in January 2005. Only about 25% of the remainder of highway 50 in Colorado is four lane highway.
The Ouray Hydroelectric Power Plant is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in Ouray, Colorado.
Trout Lake is a lake located in southeast San Miguel County, Colorado, in Uncompahgre National Forest. Trout Lake is a 15-minute drive from Ophir via Colorado State Highway 145 and a 20-minute drive from Telluride.
Mears Peak is a 13,496-foot-elevation (4,114-meter) mountain summit located on the common boundary of Ouray County with San Miguel County, in Colorado, United States. It is situated six miles northwest of the community of Telluride, in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is part of the Sneffels Range which is a subset of the San Juan Mountains, which in turn is part of the Rocky Mountains. Mears Peak is situated west of the Continental Divide, and 3.8 miles west of Mount Sneffels. Topographic relief is significant as the south aspect rises 4,900 feet above the San Miguel River in approximately 5.5 miles.
Mount Ridgway is a 13,468-foot-elevation (4,105-meter) mountain summit located in Ouray County of southwest Colorado, United States. It is situated five miles west of the community of Ouray, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is part of the Sneffels Range which is a subset of the San Juan Mountains, which in turn is part of the Rocky Mountains. It is west of the Continental Divide, 2.2 miles east-northeast of Mount Sneffels, and 0.95 miles southwest of Whitehouse Mountain, which is the nearest higher neighbor. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 3,000 feet above Blaine Basin in one mile.