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San Juan County, Colorado

Coordinates: 37°46′N 107°40′W / 37.77°N 107.67°W / 37.77; -107.67
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For counties with a similar name, see San Juan County (disambiguation).

San Juan County
County
The San Juan County Courthouse in Silverton
The San Juan County Courthouse in Silverton
Map of Colorado highlighting San Juan County
Location within the U.S. state of Colorado
Map of the United States highlighting Colorado
Colorado's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°46′N 107°40′W / 37.77°N 107.67°W / 37.77; -107.67
Country United States
State Colorado
FoundedJanuary 31, 1876
Named forSan Juan River
SeatSilverton
Largest townSilverton
Area
 • Total
388 sq mi (1,000 km2)
 • Land387 sq mi (1,000 km2)
 • Water0.8 sq mi (2 km2)  0.2%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
705
 • Density1.8/sq mi (0.7/km2)
Time zoneUTC−7 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district3rd
Websitesanjuancounty.colorado.gov

San Juan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 705,[1] making it the least populous county in Colorado. The county seat and the only incorporated municipality in the county is Silverton.[2] The county name is the Spanish language name for "Saint John", the name Spanish explorers gave to a river and the mountain range in the area. With a mean elevation of 11,240 feet (3,430 meters), San Juan County is the highest county in the United States and also has the two highest elevation houses in the United States; the ‘Bonnie Belle’ above Animas Forks at 11,900’ – 11,950’ elevation and an unnamed house above Picayune Gulch at 12,000’ elevation.

History

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Long before European settlement, the area was regularly explored by the Anasazi, and later the Utes, who hunted and lived in the San Juans during the summer.[3] There is also speculation that Spanish explorers and fur traders ventured into the area in the 1600s and 1700s.[3]

Permanent settlement in the area surrounding present-day San Juan County began in 1860, near the end of the Colorado Gold Rush. These first settlers were a group of prospectors led by Charles Baker, who made their way into the San Juan Mountains searching for gold.[4]

After the Brunot Agreement with the Utes in 1873, which exchanged four million acres (6,200 sq mi; 16,000 km2) for the Southern Ute Indian Reservation and $25,000 per year, several mining camps were constructed.[5] These would later become the communities of Howardsville, Eureka, and Silverton. San Juan County was formed on January 31, 1876, from part of La Plata County.

The region boomed after George Howard and R. J. McNutt discovered the Sunnyside silver vein along Hurricane Peak, outside the mining camp of Eureka. Gold was then discovered in 1882, which helped the county weather the Panic of 1893 far better than other mining communities, such as Aspen or Creede.[4] The Sunnyside Mine would become one of Colorado's longest running and most productive mines.[6]

Mining operators in the San Juan mountain area of Colorado formed the San Juan District Mining Association (SJDMA) in 1903, as a direct result of a Western Federation of Miners proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight-hour day, which had been approved in a referendum by 72 percent of Colorado voters.[7] The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan Counties.[8] The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike.

The Sunnyside mine was shut down after the 1929 stock market crash, but was acquired by Standard Metals Corp. in 1959, and reopened, finding gold in 1973 with the Little Mary vein. The county's economy was dealt a devastating blow in 1992 when the mine and the corresponding Shenandoah-Dives mill, the last operating in the region, permanently closed.[9][6] The closure meant the end of jobs for over one third of the county's workforce.[9]

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 388 square miles (1,000 km2), of which 387 square miles (1,000 km2) is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2) (0.2%) is water.[10] It is the fifth-smallest county in Colorado by area. The county is located in the heart of the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Though it has the highest mean elevation of any county in the United States, at 11,240 feet (3,430 m), none of Colorado's 53 fourteeners (mountains at least 14,000 feet in elevation) are in San Juan County.[11]

Adjacent counties

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Major highways

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Silverton as seen from US 550

National protected areas

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Trails and byways

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18801,087—
18901,57244.6%
19002,34249.0%
19103,06330.8%
19201,700−44.5%
19301,93513.8%
19401,439−25.6%
19501,4712.2%
1960849−42.3%
1970831−2.1%
19808330.2%
1990745−10.6%
2000558−25.1%
201069925.3%
20207050.9%
2023 (est.)802[12]13.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[13]
1790–1960[14] 1900–1990[15]
1990–2000[16] 2010–2020[1]

As of the census of 2000, there were 558 people, 269 households, and 157 families residing in the county. The population density was one person per square mile (0.39 person/km2). There were 632 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (0.77/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.13% White, 0.72% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.36% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. 7.35% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 269 households, out of which 23.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.90% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.30% were non-families. 36.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.63.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.10% under the age of 18, 4.30% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 40.50% from 45 to 64, and 7.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,764, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $30,588 versus $19,545 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,584. About 13.50% of families and 20.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.40% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.

San Juan county is the only county outside Alaska where walking is the most common form of commute to work. As of 2013, 33% of residents walked to work, 18% drove alone, 19% carpooled, and 18% bicycled, though the small population size introduces considerable margins of error to these statistics.[17]

As of November 2006, the one and only local school had 53 students in grades K–12.

Communities

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Town

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Unincorporated communities

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Former communities

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Politics

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In the era of William Jennings Bryan, San Juan County strongly favored the Democratic Party: no Republican managed to carry the county between 1892 and 1916, and it was even one of the few northern or western counties to vote for Alton B. Parker in 1904. It remained a Democratic-leaning county until the 1960s but then turned towards the Republican Party in subsequent decades. No Democratic presidential nominee won San Juan County between 1968 and 2000, although it was one of fifteen rural or remote counties to give a plurality to Ross Perot in 1992. Since John Kerry carried the county for his party for the first time in four decades at the 2004 election, San Juan County has voted Democratic at the last five Presidential elections.

United States presidential election results for San Juan County, Colorado[18]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2024 188 31.97% 376 63.95% 24 4.08%
2020 202 35.94% 342 60.85% 18 3.20%
2016 215 42.49% 265 52.37% 26 5.14%
2012 212 41.90% 266 52.57% 28 5.53%
2008 218 43.95% 264 53.23% 14 2.82%
2004 216 44.44% 253 52.06% 17 3.50%
2000 210 48.17% 149 34.17% 77 17.66%
1996 153 41.35% 133 35.95% 84 22.70%
1992 118 26.05% 147 32.45% 188 41.50%
1988 210 50.36% 192 46.04% 15 3.60%
1984 320 61.66% 183 35.26% 16 3.08%
1980 268 48.82% 146 26.59% 135 24.59%
1976 221 53.77% 167 40.63% 23 5.60%
1972 238 58.33% 140 34.31% 30 7.35%
1968 165 46.09% 134 37.43% 59 16.48%
1964 129 31.70% 278 68.30% 0 0.00%
1960 218 45.23% 261 54.15% 3 0.62%
1956 324 58.38% 231 41.62% 0 0.00%
1952 432 56.77% 327 42.97% 2 0.26%
1948 329 47.00% 348 49.71% 23 3.29%
1944 328 55.88% 258 43.95% 1 0.17%
1940 452 54.20% 378 45.32% 4 0.48%
1936 196 23.61% 622 74.94% 12 1.45%
1932 160 22.44% 544 76.30% 9 1.26%
1928 277 37.13% 436 58.45% 33 4.42%
1924 218 39.78% 206 37.59% 124 22.63%
1920 330 50.46% 290 44.34% 34 5.20%
1916 214 21.62% 693 70.00% 83 8.38%
1912 231 22.49% 555 54.04% 241 23.47%
1908 547 38.52% 774 54.51% 99 6.97%
1904 708 42.88% 899 54.45% 44 2.67%
1900 362 23.78% 1,135 74.57% 25 1.64%
1896 17 1.09% 1,535 98.71% 3 0.19%
1892 96 16.52% 0 0.00% 485 83.48%
1888 392 55.21% 287 40.42% 31 4.37%
1884 664 57.24% 473 40.78% 23 1.98%
1880 224 52.71% 196 46.12% 5 1.18%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Smith, Duane A. (2004). A brief history of Silverton (2nd ed.). Montrose, Colo.: Western Reflections Pub. p. 102. ISBN 1-890437-95-6. OCLC 56351338.
  4. ^ a b Twitty, Eric (March 1992). "Historic Mining Resources of San Juan County, Colorado" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  5. ^ Voynick, S.M., 1992, Colorado Gold, Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company, ISBN 0878424555
  6. ^ a b Bunyak, Dawn (1997). "Silverton Historic District (boundary increase)". National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  7. ^ Roughneck—The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 65.
  8. ^ The Corpse on Boomerang Road, Telluride's War on Labor 1899–1908, MaryJoy Martin, 2004, page 201.
  9. ^ a b Russek, Melanie (n.d.). "Resiliency Plan for Silverton & San Juan County, Colorado" (PDF). National Association of Development Organizations. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  10. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  11. ^ "Mean County Elevation Lists".
  12. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  13. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  14. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  15. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  16. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  17. ^ "Interactive: How Americans Get to Work". FlowingData. January 20, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  18. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
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