Fountain, Colorado

Coordinates: 38°41′20″N 104°40′58″W / 38.68889°N 104.68278°W / 38.68889; -104.68278
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Fountain, Colorado
Major Routes
Websitefountaincolorado.org

The City of Fountain is a

Front Range Urban Corridor
.

Fountain is located 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Colorado Springs and just east of Fort Carson. Fountain and the Colorado Springs suburbs Security and Widefield make up the "Fountain Valley" community.[8]

History

Fountain was built in 1859 as a railroad shipping center for local ranches and farms. The town was named for

Fountain Creek[9]
and was incorporated in 1900.

A train wreck, "The Blast", as it is now known, occurred in Fountain during the spring of 1888. Just after three in the morning on May 14, 1888, a freight train carrying eighteen tons of explosives and a passenger train collided in the city. The accident killed three people: Charles F. Smith, a Fountain lumber dealer originally from Keokuk, Iowa, Henry Hutchins, a Fountain merchant and Mrs. Sarah Widrig a local hat maker from Fountain. (There are conflicting reports of others who may not have died immediately, but later as a result of injuries from the crash.)[10]

The blast from the collision created a very loud explosion that could be heard from miles away. The crash destroyed a nearby church, a grocery store and created a large crater in the ground forty feet in diameter and fifteen feet deep.[10]

The cause of the wreck was attributed to a pair of unruly vagrants who were kicked off of the freight train north of Fountain in

The Rocky Mountain News, it was later reported that one of the two vagrants murdered a third man, Frank Shipman, on the freight train. Shipman was returning from visiting his brother in Pueblo, Colorado. The unidentified vagrants and Shipman had been arguing and Shipman was struck hard in the head killing him. The men attempted to dispose of Shipman's dead body and cover-up the crime by disconnecting the train car Shipman's body was in. The train car Shipman's body was in, three other train cars carrying the explosive naphtha, and the caboose of the freight train were disconnected by the men and sent southbound towards Fountain. Meanwhile, a passenger train was traveling northbound on the same tracks. The collision followed. Thirty riders on board the northbound passenger train were able to escape the locomotive before the collision thanks to a frantic warning from the conductor. Twenty-eight people were injured. The vagrants suspected at the root of Shipman's murder and the train wreck were never found and no one was ever charged with a crime.[11]

"The Blast" remains an important event in the city's history. It is commemorated with an annual street dance held at Fountain's City Hall Plaza each July.

In 1999, Fountain was chosen as "America's Millennium City" by

All-America City" in 2002 by the National Civic League.[13] The city is the home of Pikes Peak International Raceway
.

Fountain Valley Town Hall

In 2008, in a controversial move, the city of Fountain purchased a 480-acre (1.9 km2) ranch, the H2O Ranch in Custer County, for $3.5 million. The city was interested in the prime water rights on the property totaling 700 acre-feet (860,000 m3) a year. Fountain is in the process of drying out the ranch and moving through the water courts to actually receive some of that water. They claim that they should be able to successfully receive 600 of that 700 acre-feet (860,000 m3) after the water courts have made their decisions. It is expected that Fountain will separate the water from the ranch and then sell the ranch separately.[14][15]

In 2014, Cop Car began filming in Fountain.[16]

In 2020, Fountain water was considered safe to drink after a long running contamination problem with PFCs (perflourinated compounds) being leaked into the water table by the nearby Air Force base.[17] According to a recent study, PFCs have been shown to cause penile shrinkage.[18]

Geography

According to the

Fountain Creek
flows south through the city.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
188099—
1910431—
192059538.1%
1930577−3.0%
1940571−1.0%
195071324.9%
19601,602124.7%
19703,515119.4%
19808,324136.8%
19909,98419.9%
200015,19752.2%
201025,84670.1%
202029,80215.3%
2022 (est.)28,907[6]−3.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[19]
2020 Census[5]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 29,802 people, 9,931 households, and 7,779 families residing in the city.[20] The population density was 1,324.5 inhabitants per square mile (511.4/km2). There were 10,324 housing units.

2000 census

As of the

Latino
of any race were 15.06% of the population.

There were 5,039 households, out of which 49.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.7% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.4% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.5% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,121, and the median income for a family was $44,735. Males had a median income of $31,192 versus $24,000 for females. The

poverty line
, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Fountain has a municipal run bus that links the city with Pikes Peak State College.[21] Fountain is also part of the Bustang network, which provides it intercity transportation. It is along the Lamar-Pueblo-Colorado Springs Outrider line.[22]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ "Active Colorado Municipalities". Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
  3. ^ "2023 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  4. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fountain, Colorado
  5. ^ a b c "Explore Census Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "City and Town Population Totals: 2020–2022". United States Census Bureau. March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  7. ^ "Fountain (CO) sales tax rate". Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  8. ^ "Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce". chamber.fountaincolorado.org. Archived from the original on December 23, 2004. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  9. ^ "Profile for Fountain, Colorado, CO". ePodunk. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  10. ^ a b "A WHOLE TOWN WRECKED; A COLLISION FOLLOWED BY A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION. THREE PERSONS INSTANTLY KILLED, THREE FATALLY INJURED, AND MANY OTHERS SERIOMSLY HURT". Query.nytimes.com. May 15, 1888. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  11. ISBN 9780786713561
    . Retrieved October 28, 2017 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ Bennet, James (December 5, 1999). "A Few of Our Favorite Things". The New York Times.
  13. ^ "2002 All-America City". chamber.fountaincolorado.org. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  14. ^ "City buys Valley water rights". Wet Mountain Tribune. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
  15. ^ Cloud, David S. (January 30, 2020). "'Our voices are not being heard': Colorado town a test case for California PFAS victims". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  16. ^ "Colorado Springs duo remain separated from Kevin Bacon". Gazette Telegraph. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  17. ^ "City of Fountain says water is safe to drink". October 13, 2020.
  18. ^ "Nonstick Frying Pans can cause P**** to Shrink".
  19. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  20. ^ "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  21. ^ "Transit Route" (PDF). Fountain Colorado. City of Fountain.
  22. ^ "Bustang Schedules". RideBustang. CDOT.

External links

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