SAN MIGUEL COUNTY, COLORADO

'San Miguel County' is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county is named for the San Miguel River. The county population was 6,594 at U.S. Census 2000. Annual County Population Estimates and Estimated Components of Change: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 (CO-EST2006-alldata) The county seat is Telluride.

Contents

Geography

Adjacent Counties

History

Demographics

Cities and towns

National historic sites

National forest

National wilderness areas

Bicycle routes

Scenic byways

See also

External links

References

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,337 km² (1,288 mi²). 3,332 km² (1,286 mi²) of it is land and 5 km² (2 mi²) of it (0.15%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

★ Montrose County, Colorado - north

★ Ouray County, Colorado - east

★ San Juan County, Colorado - southeast

★ Dolores County, Colorado - south

★ San Juan County, Utah - west

History

San Miguel County was given the Spanish language name for "Saint Michael" due to the nearby San Miguel River. On 27 February 1883 Ouray County was split to form San Miguel County. Originally the San Miguel County portion was to retain the name Ouray County with the new portion called Uncompahgre County.
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.Roughneck—The Life aand Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 65. The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan counties.The Corpse On Boomerang Road, Telluride's War On Labor 1899-1908, MaryJoy Martin, 2004, page 201. The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 6,594 people, 3,015 households, and 1,423 families residing in the county. The population density was 2/km² (5/mi²). There were 5,197 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (4/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.57% White, 0.29% Black or African American, 0.85% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 3.37% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. 6.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,015 households out of which 22.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.30% were married couples living together, 5.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.80% were non-families. 32.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the county the population was spread out with 17.60% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 43.30% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 3.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 120.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,514, and the median income for a family was $60,417. Males had a median income of $35,922 versus $30,278 for females. The per capita income for the county was $35,329. About 6.60% of families and 10.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.10% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

★ Mountain Village

★ Norwood

★ Ophir

★ Placerville

★ Sawpit

★ Telluride

National historic sites

★ Old Spanish National Historic Trail

★ Telluride National Historic District

National forest

★ Uncompahgre National Forest

National wilderness areas

★ Lizard Head Wilderness

★ Mount Sneffels Wilderness

Bicycle routes

★ Great Parks Bicycle Route

★ Western Express Bicycle Route

Scenic byways

★ San Juan Skyway National Scenic Byway

★ Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway

See also

★ Colorado census statistical areas

★ Colorado counties

★ Colorado municipalities

External links

★ San Miguel County Government website

References