Westcliffe, Colorado

Westcliffe, Colorado
Town
Horn Peak of the Sangre de Cristo Range viewed from Westcliffe
Location of Westcliffe in Custer County, Colorado.
Coordinates: 38°07′48″N105°27′45″W / 38.13000°N 105.46250°W / 38.13000; -105.46250
Country	United States
State	State of Colorado
County [1]	Custer County - seat [2]
Incorporated	November 21, 1887 [3]
Government
• Type	Statutory Town [1]
•  Mayor	Paul Wenke[ citation needed ]
Area [4]
• Total	1.24 sq mi (3.20 km2)
• Land	1.24 sq mi (3.20 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation [5]	7,871 ft (2,399 m)
Population  (2020) [6]
• Total	435
• Density	350/sq mi (140/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code [7]	81252
Area code	719
FIPS code	08-83450
GNIS feature ID	2413471 [5]
Website	townofwestcliffe.com

Westcliffe is a statutory town that is the county seat of Custer County, Colorado, United States. ^{[8] [2]} At the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 435. ^[6]

History

• 
  The restored D&RGW depot in August 2022
• 
  Shopping lane in downtown Westcliffe

Westcliffe had its start in 1881 when the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad was extended to that point. ^[9]

Geography

Westcliffe is located west of the geographic center of Custer County in the Wet Mountain Valley, between the Wet Mountains to the east and the Sangre de Cristo Range to the west. The town of Silver Cliff is immediately to the east of Westcliffe.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²), all of it land. ^[10]

Climate

Climate data for Westcliffe, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1895–present
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	65 (18)	69 (21)	74 (23)	78 (26)	88 (31)	95 (35)	96 (36)	94 (34)	90 (32)	82 (28)	79 (26)	72 (22)	96 (36)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	55.3 (12.9)	56.5 (13.6)	64.6 (18.1)	70.4 (21.3)	78.4 (25.8)	86.3 (30.2)	88.1 (31.2)	85.1 (29.5)	81.4 (27.4)	74.9 (23.8)	64.4 (18.0)	56.2 (13.4)	88.9 (31.6)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	39.6 (4.2)	41.7 (5.4)	49.6 (9.8)	56.4 (13.6)	65.8 (18.8)	76.9 (24.9)	80.6 (27.0)	78.0 (25.6)	72.4 (22.4)	61.3 (16.3)	48.9 (9.4)	39.8 (4.3)	59.2 (15.1)
Daily mean °F (°C)	23.9 (−4.5)	26.9 (−2.8)	34.6 (1.4)	41.0 (5.0)	49.5 (9.7)	58.7 (14.8)	62.8 (17.1)	61.1 (16.2)	54.7 (12.6)	43.7 (6.5)	32.8 (0.4)	23.9 (−4.5)	42.8 (6.0)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	8.3 (−13.2)	12.1 (−11.1)	19.6 (−6.9)	25.7 (−3.5)	33.3 (0.7)	40.6 (4.8)	44.9 (7.2)	44.1 (6.7)	37.0 (2.8)	26.1 (−3.3)	16.7 (−8.5)	8.0 (−13.3)	26.4 (−3.1)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	−13.7 (−25.4)	−12.6 (−24.8)	−3.1 (−19.5)	5.2 (−14.9)	19.8 (−6.8)	30.3 (−0.9)	37.9 (3.3)	35.8 (2.1)	23.9 (−4.5)	5.6 (−14.7)	−7.6 (−22.0)	−15.9 (−26.6)	−19.8 (−28.8)
Record low °F (°C)	−41 (−41)	−46 (−43)	−31 (−35)	−25 (−32)	−2 (−19)	17 (−8)	25 (−4)	20 (−7)	4 (−16)	−12 (−24)	−29 (−34)	−39 (−39)	−46 (−43)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	0.48 (12)	0.58 (15)	1.06 (27)	1.56 (40)	1.41 (36)	0.79 (20)	2.66 (68)	1.98 (50)	0.90 (23)	0.95 (24)	0.69 (18)	0.53 (13)	13.59 (346)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	8.4 (21)	10.4 (26)	15.0 (38)	19.6 (50)	4.3 (11)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.9 (2.3)	8.4 (21)	8.5 (22)	8.8 (22)	84.3 (213.3)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	3.7	4.7	6.6	6.8	6.9	5.8	11.6	11.6	5.9	5.1	4.1	4.3	77.1
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	3.7	4.6	5.7	4.4	1.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.8	3.4	4.1	29.2
Source 1: NOAA [11]
Source 2: National Weather Service [12]

Dark skies

Westcliffe, and neighboring Silver Cliff, Colorado, are recognized as IDA International Dark Sky Communities by The International Dark-Sky Association. Gentle persuasion has resulted in residents and business in the towns and surrounding ranch land reducing the amount of light pollution. ^[13]

Locals have set up a free observatory in an old period building with a "roll-off" roof to open up the 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with computer-guided pointing and tracking to the skies overhead. Named the Smokey Jack Observatory, it was built in 2015. ^{[14] [15]}

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	192		—
1900	256		33.3%
1910	232		−9.4%
1920	338		45.7%
1930	335		−0.9%
1940	429		28.1%
1950	390		−9.1%
1960	306		−21.5%
1970	243		−20.6%
1980	324		33.3%
1990	312		−3.7%
2000	417		33.7%
2010	568		36.2%
2020	435		−23.4%

Notable people

• Gordon Clark (1902–1985), philosopher and theologian, buried near Westcliffe
• Anne Kimbell (1932–2017), actress and founder of the Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts ^[16]
• Adolph Treidler (1886–1981), artist, born in Westcliffe

See also

• Colorado portal

• Custer County, Colorado

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: Westcliffe, Colorado
6. United States Census Bureau. "Westcliffe town, Colorado" . Retrieved March 31, 2023.
7. "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on November 22, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
8. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
9. Fielder, John (2002). "John Fielder's Best of Colorado". Big Earth Publishing. p. 297. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
10. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Westcliffe town, Colorado". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
11. "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Westcliffe, CO". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
12. "NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Pueblo". National Weather Service. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
13. Jack Healy (August 12, 2016). "Colorado Towns Work to Preserve a Diminishing Resource: Darkness". The New York Times . Retrieved August 13, 2016.
14. "WATCH: Visit a dark sky observatory for free stargazing in southern Colorado". July 18, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
15. Smokey Jack Observatory, Dark skies of the Wet Mountain Valley, www.darkskiescolorado.org, accessed July 21, 2019.
16. "Stage and screen star Anne Kimbell Relph dies". Wet Mountain Tribune. June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.

External links

• Town of Westcliffe official website