South Fork, Colorado

Town of South Fork, Colorado
Town of South Fork, Colorado
Town
	South Fork as seen from the summit of Agua Ramon Mountain
	Location of South Fork in Rio Grande County, Colorado.
	Coordinates: 37°40′9″N106°38′34″W / 37.66917°N 106.64278°W
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Rio Grande County
Incorporated	May 19, 1992
Government
• Type	Statutory Town
Area
• Total	2.50 sq mi (6.47 km2)
• Land	2.50 sq mi (6.47 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	8,209 ft (2,502 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	510
• Density	200/sq mi (79/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code	81154
Area code	719
FIPS code	08-72395
GNIS feature ID	0203420
Website	Town of South Fork

Last updated October 16, 2023

South Fork is a statutory town in Rio Grande County, Colorado, United States. It lies at the confluence of the South Fork and Rio Grande rivers. The population was 510 at the 2020 census.^[5]

Geography

South Fork is located at 37°40′09″N106°38′34″W / 37.669065°N 106.642829°W / 37.669065; -106.642829 .^[7]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km²), all land.

History

South Fork was once the site of timber milling operations.^[8]

South Fork was founded in 1882, by which date its location was already marked by the presence of a coaching post, dating from the construction of the railroad connection of the Rio Grande Western Railroad line to Creede, which had been built to support the Creede silver mine. It was only in 1992 that South Fork achieved independent statutory town status, making it the youngest statutory town in the state. Originally the principal economic activities involved forestry and mining, but in recent decades these have been overtaken in the employment statistics by tourism.

South Fork made Colorado headlines during the Summer of 2020 when its town board announced that solicitations for donations was unlawful within town limits. This was in response to a local farmer's market in which one of its vendors was asking people for donations to the Black Lives Matter movement and the NAACP.^[9]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
2000	604	—
2010	386	−36.1%
2020	510	32.1%

South Fork has about 600 permanent residents, but a substantially larger summer population due to seasonal residents and visitors.^[8]

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References

1 2 "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
↑ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
↑ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
1 2 United States Census Bureau. "South Fork town, Colorado" . Retrieved April 5, 2023.
↑ "ZIP Code Lookup" (JavaScript/HTML). United States Postal Service . Retrieved January 3, 2008.
↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
1 2 Bruce Finley (June 23, 2013). "West Fork fire complex at nearly 66,200 acres and feeding on beetle-ravaged forests". Denver Post .
↑ "Southern Colorado town tells farm owners asking for donations isn't allowed after BLM drive". October 2, 2020.

External links

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[COMun-1] 1 2 "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2007.

[MuniIncCO-2] "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.

[CenPopGazetteer2019-3] "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.

[GR3-4] "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.

[Census_2020-5] 1 2 United States Census Bureau. "South Fork town, Colorado" . Retrieved April 5, 2023.

[ZIPcode-6] "ZIP Code Lookup" (JavaScript/HTML). United States Postal Service . Retrieved January 3, 2008.

[GR1-7] "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.

[DenverPostJune23-8] 1 2 Bruce Finley (June 23, 2013). "West Fork fire complex at nearly 66,200 acres and feeding on beetle-ravaged forests". Denver Post .

[9] "Southern Colorado town tells farm owners asking for donations isn't allowed after BLM drive". October 2, 2020.

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v t e Municipalities and communities of Rio Grande County, Colorado, United States
County seat: Del Norte
City	Monte Vista	Map of Colorado highlighting Rio Grande County
Towns	Center‡ Del Norte South Fork
CDPs	Alpine Gerrard
Unincorporated community	Homelake
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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