HOLLY, COLORADO

'Holly' is a town in Prowers County, Colorado, close to the Kansas border. The population was 1,048 at the 2000 census. It is the easternmost town in the state of Colorado, four miles from the Kansas border.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

History

Early Holly

Holly Sugar

2007 Holly Tornado

Notable residents

External links

Geography

Holly is located at (38.054520, -102.125398).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.9 km² (0.8 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,048 people, 369 households, and 250 families residing in the town. The population density was 539.5/km² (1,388.5/mi²). There were 449 housing units at an average density of 231.1/km² (594.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 75.10% White, 0.38% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 23.66% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.97% of the population.
There were 369 households out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.36.
In the town the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $24,917, and the median income for a family was $31,979. Males had a median income of $23,000 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,246. About 21.7% of families and 27.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.5% of those under age 18 and 20.7% of those age 65 or over.

History

Early Holly

It began in 1871, the stone ranch house and barn, known as the SS Ranch. Mr. Hiram S. Holly, for whom the town was named, had served with the Twenty-Eighth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and after his discharge, he eventually arrived in Eastern Colorado with 1300 head of mixed cattle.
The ranch changed hands in 1883 when Mr. Holly and his partners sold it to an English Company under the name of the Arkansas Land and Cattle Company. The ranch eventually grew to be one of the largest cattle ranches in the West, encompassing nearly 2,500,000 acres of land.
Back in the early days, ranch headquarters acted as community centers, not only for those employed at the ranch, but also for neighboring homesteads. The centers not only provided many services, but in many cases, sold supplies and food. The SS Ranch was one of these community centers, or service centers, that grew to be the small town of Holly. The ranch house and barn are still standing in Holly.

Holly Sugar

Holly Sugar was created in the town in 1905 just in time for the sugarbeet harvest that year. The production was so successful the company quickly looked to expand to other communities. By 1911, Holly Sugar had expanded outside the State of Colorado. The company has long since left the Holly community. In 1988, Holly Sugar merged with Imperial Sugar.

2007 Holly Tornado

On March 28, 2007, an EF3 tornado [1] struck the city. Much of the houses in Holly, and some outside of town were completely demolished. 29-year-old Holly resident Rosemary Rosales was killed as a result of injuries she sustained during the tornado. 76 year-old Delores Burns later died from her injuries one month after. [2] Homes in Holly sustained considerable damage. Approximately 160 homes suffered at least some damage with 50 homes ruled unfit to live in. State Farm Insurance estimated their company alone would have to pay out more than $2,000,000 in claims.

Notable residents

Holly is the hometown of former Colorado Governor Roy Romer, who moved to Holly at six months old, from his birthplace of Garden City, Kansas.

External links