Springfield, Colorado

Springfield, Colorado
Town
Springfield's town hall in 2015.
Location of Springfield in Baca County, Colorado.
Coordinates: 37°24′27″N102°37′32″W / 37.40750°N 102.62556°W / 37.40750; -102.62556
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County [1]	Baca [2]
Settled	1888
Incorporated	January 16, 1889 [3]
Government
• Type	Statutory Town [1]
Area [4]
• Total	1.13 sq mi (2.92 km2)
• Land	1.13 sq mi (2.92 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation [5]	4,370 ft (1,330 m)
Population  (2020) [6]
• Total	1,325
• Density	1,200/sq mi (450/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code [7]	81073
Area code	719
FIPS code	08-73330
GNIS feature ID	2413324 [5]
Website	www.springfieldco.gov

Springfield is a Statutory Town which is also the county seat and most populous town in Baca County, Colorado, United States. ^[8] The population was 1,325 at the 2020 census. ^[6]

History

Frank and Jim Tipton settled in Las Animas, Colorado in 1886. In 1888 or 1889, the Tiptons secured the title to 80 acres which was the original townsite. They did this using a "soldiers script" and named the town after Springfield, Missouri, ^[9] since this is where the Tipton brothers had come from. ^[10]

Geography and climate

Springfield is located in north-central Baca County located approximately 30 miles north of the Oklahoma state line.

U.S. Routes 287 and 385 pass through the center of the town, leading north 47 miles (76 km) to Lamar, Colorado, and south 49 miles (79 km) to Boise City, Oklahoma. U.S. Route 160 passes just to the south of the town, leading west 120 miles (190 km) to Trinidad, Colorado, and east 50 miles (80 km) to Johnson City, Kansas.

Springfield Municipal Airport (FAA ID: 8V7) is four miles north. ^[11]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.9 km²), all of it land. ^[12]

Springfield has a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with hot summers featuring mild mornings and occasional heavy thunderstorm rains, and highly variable winters that range from very warm and windy to frigid and relatively still.

Climate data for Springfield 7 WSW, Colorado (1971 to 2000; extremes 1956 to 2001)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	79 (26)	83 (28)	90 (32)	97 (36)	104 (40)	111 (44)	109 (43)	104 (40)	101 (38)	95 (35)	86 (30)	78 (26)	111 (44)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	44.9 (7.2)	50.1 (10.1)	57.8 (14.3)	66.3 (19.1)	75.0 (23.9)	86.3 (30.2)	91.3 (32.9)	88.8 (31.6)	80.2 (26.8)	69.7 (20.9)	54.4 (12.4)	45.3 (7.4)	67.5 (19.7)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	14.9 (−9.5)	18.4 (−7.6)	24.1 (−4.4)	32.7 (0.4)	43.2 (6.2)	54.2 (12.3)	58.4 (14.7)	57.4 (14.1)	48.4 (9.1)	36.8 (2.7)	24.1 (−4.4)	16.7 (−8.5)	35.8 (2.1)
Record low °F (°C)	−23 (−31)	−22 (−30)	−10 (−23)	5 (−15)	20 (−7)	37 (3)	44 (7)	40 (4)	21 (−6)	6 (−14)	−11 (−24)	−18 (−28)	−23 (−31)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	0.47 (12)	0.48 (12)	1.16 (29)	1.64 (42)	2.86 (73)	2.00 (51)	2.49 (63)	2.46 (62)	1.37 (35)	0.96 (24)	0.73 (19)	0.42 (11)	17.04 (433)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	5.4 (14)	4.4 (11)	7.7 (20)	3.3 (8.4)	1.0 (2.5)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.4 (1.0)	1.8 (4.6)	4.4 (11)	5.1 (13)	33.5 (85.5)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 inch)	3.8	3.5	5.8	5.6	9.0	6.8	8.1	7.4	5.3	4.0	3.7	3.7	66.7
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 inch)	3.8	3.2	3.5	1.4	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.7	2.7	3.4	19.2
Source: NOAA [13]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1920	295		—
1930	1,393		372.2%
1940	1,082		−22.3%
1950	2,131		97.0%
1960	1,791		−16.0%
1970	1,660		−7.3%
1980	1,657		−0.2%
1990	1,475		−11.0%
2000	1,562		5.9%
2010	1,451		−7.1%
2020	1,325		−8.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census ^[14] of 2010, there were 1,451 people, 715 households, and 409 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,793.8 inhabitants per square mile (692.6/km²). There were 838 housing units at an average density of 962.4 units per square mile (371.6 units/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.88% White, 1.15% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 2.56% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.83% of the population.

There were 715 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.4% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 26.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,099, and the median income for a family was $34,107. Males had a median income of $25,385 versus $16,339 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,890. About 14.4% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.6% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Board of Trustees as of December 2020 consists of Tyler K Gibson (Mayor), Ervin Maltbie (Mayor Pro-Tem), and Trustees Ted Locke, Jim Howard, Mike Cooper, Dan McVey, and Christy Brady. ^[15] Town Clerk is Tammy Newman; Town Manager/Treasurer is Merna McGinnis. ^[16]

Education

The superintendent, and elementary principal, is Richard Hargrove, and the high school principal is Ginger Walker. The town has one library.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Springfield include:

• Alfred A. Arraj (1906–1992), U.S. federal judge ^[17]

See also

• Colorado portal

• Springfield Schoolhouse

References

1. "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
2. "Colorado County Seats". State of Colorado, Department of Public Health and Environment. Retrieved December 31, 2007.
3. "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
4. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
5. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Springfield, Colorado
6. United States Census Bureau. "Springfield town; Colorado" . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
7. "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on September 3, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
8. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
9. Dawson, John Frank. Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 47.
10. Calhan, Henbest (March 24, 1988). Baca County History. Plainsman Herald.
11. "Springfield Municipal Airport". AirNav.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
12. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Springfield town, Colorado". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
13. "Climatography of the United States No. 20: 1971-2000" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Retrieved April 6, 2017.
14. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
15. "Board of Trustees". Town of Springfield. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
16. "Town Employees". Town of Springfield. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
17. "Arraj, Alfred Albert". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judiciary Center. Retrieved June 21, 2016.

External links

• Official website
• Map of Springfield, CDOT
• Springfield School District, RE-4