San Miguel County, Colorado

Infobox U.S. County
county = San Miguel County
state = Colorado


founded year = 1883
founded date = March 2
seat wl = Telluride
largest city wl = Telluride
city type = town
area_total_sq_mi = 1288
area_total_km2 = 3337
area_land_sq_mi = 1286
area_land_km2 = 3332
area_water_sq_mi = 2
area_water_km2 = 5
area percentage = 0.15%
census yr = 2000
pop = 6594
density_sq_mi = 4
density_km2 = 2
time zone = Mountain
UTC offset = -7
DST offset = -6
footnotes =
web = www.sanmiguelcounty.org
named for = San Miguel River

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.cite web | url = http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/files/CO-EST2006-ALLDATA.csv | title = Annual County Population Estimates and Estimated Components of Change: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 (CO-EST2006-alldata) | format = CSV | work = 2006 Population Estimates | publisher = United States Census Bureau, Population Division | date = 2007-03-22 | accessdate = 2007-05-17] The county seat is Telluride.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,288 square miles (3,337 km²), of which, 1,286 square miles (3,332 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) 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 censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 6,594 people, 3,015 households, and 1,423 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 5,197 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (2/km²). 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

cenic byways

*San Juan Skyway National Scenic Byway
*Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway

ee also

*Colorado census statistical areas
*Colorado counties
*Colorado municipalities

References

External links

* [http://www.sanmiguelcounty.org/ San Miguel County Government website]
* [http://www.stanwyck.com/cogenweb/cocounties.html Colorado County Evolution by Don Stanwyck]
* [http://www.coloradohistory.org/ Colorado Historical Society]