Fremont County, Colorado

Fremont County, Colorado
Location in the state of Colorado
Colorado's location in the U.S.
Founded	November 1, 1861
Named for	John C. Frémont
Seat	Cañon City
Largest city	Cañon City
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,533.95 sq mi (3,973 km²) 1,532.93 sq mi (3,970 km²) 1.02 sq mi (3 km²), 0.07%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	46,824 30.5/sq mi (11.8/km²)
Website	www.fremontco.com
Footnotes: 13th most populous Colorado county

Fremont County is the thirteenth most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county is named for explorer and presidential candidate John C. Frémont. The county population was 46,824 at the 2010 census. The county seat is Cañon City. The Cañon City Micropolitan Statistical Area comprises Fremont County. Fremont County is also home to 15 prisons. The artist Christo has announced controversial plans to drape a portion of the Arkansas River in Fremont County in cloth.

ADX Supermax, the only federal Supermax prison in the United States, is in an unincorporated area in Fremont County, south of Florence.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,533.95 square miles (3,972.9 km²), of which 1,532.93 square miles (3,970.3 km²) (or 99.93%) is land and 1.02 square miles (2.6 km²) (or 0.07%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Teller County, Colorado - north
• El Paso County, Colorado - northeast
• Pueblo County, Colorado - southeast
• Custer County, Colorado - south
• Saguache County, Colorado - southwest
• Chaffee County, Colorado - northwest
• Park County, Colorado - northwest

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 46,145 people, 15,232 households, and 10,494 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 17,145 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.52% White, 5.34% Black or African American, 1.53% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.22% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. 10.35% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,232 households out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.10% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county the population was spread out with 20.60% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 33.40% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 133.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 143.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,150, and the median income for a family was $42,303. Males had a median income of $30,428 versus $23,112 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,420. About 8.30% of families and 11.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.80% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

Sister cities

Fremont County has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• Kahoku, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan
• Valday, Russia

Government and infrastructure

Colorado Department of Corrections operates several prisons in the county. The department operates the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility in Cañon City. In addition it several correctional facilities near Cañon City are located in unincorporated areas in the county. Colorado State Penitentiary, the location of the state death row and execution chamber, is in Fremont County. Other state prisons in Fremont County include Arrowhead Correctional Center, Centennial Correctional Facility, Fremont Correctional Facility, Four Mile Correctional Center, and Skyline Correctional Center.

The Colorado Women's Correctional Facility, near Cañon City in an unincorporated area, was decommissioned on June 4, 2009.

Cities and towns

• Brookside
• Cañon City
• Coal Creek
• Cotopaxi
• Florence
• Lincoln Park
• Penrose
• Rockvale
• Williamsburg

Recreation area

• Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area

National forests and wilderness

• Pike National Forest
• San Isabel National Forest
• Sangre de Cristo Wilderness

National scenic byway

• Gold Belt Tour National Scenic and Historic Byway

Transcontinental trail and bicycle routes

• American Discovery Trail
• TransAmerica Trail Bicycle Route
• Western Express Bicycle Route

See also

• Cañon City Micropolitan Statistical Area
• Colorado census statistical areas
• Colorado counties
• Colorado municipalities
• Front Range Urban Corridor
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fremont County, Colorado

External links

• Fremont County Government website
• Fremont County Photos and Information
• Royal Gorge Travel
• Colorado County Evolution by Don Stanwyck
• Colorado Historical Society