Greeley, Colorado

Coordinates: 40°25′24″N 104°42′33″W / 40.42333°N 104.70917°W / 40.42333; -104.70917
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Greeley, Colorado
US 85, SH 257, SH 263, SH 392
WebsiteCity of Greeley Colorado

Greeley is the

north-northeast of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver
.

Greeley is also a mid-sized college town, home to the University of Northern Colorado and Aims Community College.

History

Greeley in 1882

Union Colony

Main article: Union Colony of Colorado

Greeley began as the

Denver Pacific Railroad.[8]

By May, 500 people had arrived to take up residence in the new colony. The name Union Colony was later changed to Greeley in honor of Horace Greeley,

Pike's Peak Gold Rush.[11][12]

Latham

Greeley is located just west of the area previously occupied by the Overland Trail station of Latham, originally called the Cherokee City Station. The Latham station, which was also known as Fort Latham, was built in 1862 and named in honor of Milton S. Latham, one of California's early senators. The stagecoach station was at the confluence of the South Platte River and the Cache la Poudre River. It is believed that the birth of the first white child born in Colorado, a girl, occurred there. Fort Latham was the headquarters of the government troops during the Indian conflicts of 1860–1864 and the county seat; the post office was called Latham.[13]

Later history

Greeley was incorporated as a city on April 6, 1886.[14]

Greeley was built on farming and agriculture, but kept up with most modern technologies as they grew. Telephones were in town by 1883 with electric lights downtown by 1886.[14] Automobiles were on the roads alongside horse drawn buggies by 1910.[14] A Women's Citizens League was established there to support female suffrage.[15]

In 1922

Greeley Municipal Airport was built in 1928.[14]

Greeley housed two POW camps in 1943,[14] during World War II. One was for German POWs and the other was for Italian POWs. A vote to allow the sale of alcohol passed by a mere 477 votes in 1969,[14] thus ending temperance in the city.

The Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra was started in 1911.[14] In 1958, Greeley became the first city to have a Department of Culture.[14]

On December 12, 2006, the

meat packing plant in Greeley and at five other Swift plants in western states, interviewing undocumented workers and transporting hundreds off in buses.[16]

In June 2012 Greeley became the first city in the state of Colorado to implement SB11-273 known as the Law of Common Consumption[17] allowing for patrons of the Downtown Greeley Entertainment District to buy drinks in "Go-Cups," from participating downtown establishments.

Downtown Greeley

Geography

Greeley is located in the

Denver
.

Greeley is bordered on the south by the towns of

US Route 34.[18]

At the

2020 United States Census, the city had a total area of 31,419 acres (127.148 km2) including 102 acres (0.413 km2) of water.[4]

The nearest city with a population of over 100,000 is

Larimer County
.

Climate

Flooding in Greeley in 2013

Greeley experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). High temperatures are generally around 90–95 °F (32 °C) in the summer and 40-45 °F (4 °C) in the winter, although significant variation occurs. The hottest days generally occur around the third week of July and the coldest in January. Nighttime lows are near 60 °F (16 °C) in the summer and around 15–20 °F (−9 °C) in the winter. Record high temperatures of 112 °F (44.4 °C) have been recorded, as have record low temperatures of –25 °F (–32 °C). The first freeze typically occurs around October 4 and the last around May 4. Extratropical cyclones which disrupt the weather for the eastern two-thirds of the US often originate in or near Colorado, which means Greeley does not experience many fully developed storm systems. Warm fronts, sleet, and freezing rain are practically nonexistent here. In addition, the city's proximity to the Rocky Mountains and lower elevation, compared to the mountains west of the city, result in less precipitation and fewer thunderstorms. This is paradoxical, because adjacent areas (mostly farmland) experience between 7 and 9 hail days per year.[19]

The climate in Greeley, as well as all of Colorado, is extremely dry. The

diurnal
fluctuation in temperature is also common.

Climate data for Greeley, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1967–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 74
(23) 		78
(26) 		85
(29) 		91
(33) 		101
(38) 		110
(43) 		112
(44) 		106
(41) 		105
(41) 		91
(33) 		84
(29) 		76
(24) 		112
(44)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 63.0
(17.2) 		67.2
(19.6) 		77.3
(25.2) 		83.9
(28.8) 		91.5
(33.1) 		99.1
(37.3) 		102.0
(38.9) 		98.9
(37.2) 		95.2
(35.1) 		86.0
(30.0) 		73.2
(22.9) 		62.7
(17.1) 		103.1
(39.5)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 44.1
(6.7) 		47.7
(8.7) 		59.1
(15.1) 		66.0
(18.9) 		74.7
(23.7) 		85.8
(29.9) 		91.7
(33.2) 		89.2
(31.8) 		81.9
(27.7) 		67.8
(19.9) 		53.6
(12.0) 		43.4
(6.3) 		67.1
(19.5)
Daily mean °F (°C) 30.8
(−0.7) 		33.9
(1.1) 		43.6
(6.4) 		50.7
(10.4) 		59.6
(15.3) 		69.7
(20.9) 		75.5
(24.2) 		73.3
(22.9) 		65.3
(18.5) 		52.2
(11.2) 		39.7
(4.3) 		30.6
(−0.8) 		52.1
(11.1)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 17.5
(−8.1) 		20.0
(−6.7) 		28.1
(−2.2) 		35.3
(1.8) 		44.5
(6.9) 		53.6
(12.0) 		59.3
(15.2) 		57.3
(14.1) 		48.7
(9.3) 		36.6
(2.6) 		25.8
(−3.4) 		17.8
(−7.9) 		37.0
(2.8)
Mean minimum °F (°C) −2.9
(−19.4) 		0.9
(−17.3) 		10.2
(−12.1) 		21.6
(−5.8) 		31.3
(−0.4) 		43.8
(6.6) 		52.2
(11.2) 		49.6
(9.8) 		35.8
(2.1) 		20.0
(−6.7) 		6.4
(−14.2) 		−1.2
(−18.4) 		−9.2
(−22.9)
Record low °F (°C) −25
(−32) 		−20
(−29) 		−10
(−23) 		−3
(−19) 		21
(−6) 		34
(1) 		42
(6) 		41
(5) 		17
(−8) 		−2
(−19) 		−7
(−22) 		−24
(−31) 		−25
(−32)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.45
(11) 		0.45
(11) 		0.91
(23) 		1.83
(46) 		2.65
(67) 		1.78
(45) 		1.61
(41) 		1.56
(40) 		1.13
(29) 		1.06
(27) 		0.67
(17) 		0.55
(14) 		14.65
(371)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 5.7
(14) 		5.1
(13) 		5.1
(13) 		3.7
(9.4) 		0.5
(1.3) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.5
(1.3) 		3.3
(8.4) 		5.4
(14) 		5.6
(14) 		34.9
(88.4)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 3.7 4.2 5.1 7.6 10.8 8.1 7.3 7.0 6.2 5.6 4.3 3.6 73.5
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 3.2 3.4 2.5 2.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.1 2.8 3.4 19.0
Source 1: NOAA[20]
Source 2: National Weather Service[21]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1870480—
18801,297170.2%
18902,39584.7%
19003,02326.2%
19108,179170.6%
192010,95834.0%
193012,20311.4%
194015,99531.1%
195020,35427.3%
196026,31429.3%
197038,90247.8%
198053,00636.3%
199060,53614.2%
200076,93027.1%
201092,88920.7%
2020108,79517.1%
U.S. Decennial Census
Map of racial distribution in Greeley, 2020 U.S. census. Each dot is one person: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ Multiracial ⬤ Native American/Other


As of the 2021 American Community Survey 1-year estimates,[22] there were 109,340 people and 38,381 households in the city. The age distribution shows 80,882 residents are age 18 and older and 28,458 residents are under 18 years of age. The age distribution of the population showed 30.1% from 0 to 19, 8.8% from 20 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% ages 65+. The median age was 31.7 years old. The gender distribution was 48.2% male and 51.8% female. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The racial makeup of the city was 64.1%

Latino
of any race were 43.8% of the population.

Out of 38,381 total households, 26,460 (68.9%) were family households where at least one member of the household was related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. 11,921 (31.1%) households were non-family households consisting of people living alone and households which did not have any members related to the householder. Of the 26,460 family households, 12,578 (47.5%) had children under the age of 18 living with them.

The population density was 2,234.5 inhabitants per square mile (862.7/km2). There were 40,510 housing units at an average density of 828.4 per square mile (319.8/km2).

The median income for a household in the city was $64,853, and the median income for a family was $75,477. Males had a median, full-time income of $52,730 versus $44,348 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,195.

13.8% of families and 17.4% of the population had income below the

poverty line during the 12 months prior to being surveyed. For people with incomes below the poverty line, 20.5% of those are under age 18 and 9.1% are age 65 or over.[23]

Of Greeley residents ages 25 and over, 23% are high school graduates (no college) and 26% have a bachelor's degree or higher. [24]

Economy

Among the companies based in Greeley are the meatpacker JBS USA, the outsourcing company StarTek, and the contractor Hensel Phelps Construction. The Colorado/Kansas operations of natural gas utility Atmos Energy are based in Greeley.

In August 2010, Leprino Foods announced plans for a new $270 million factory in Greeley. Construction began in July 2010, and consisted of three phases.[25] The final phase was finished in 2017, and 500 people are currently employed at the facility.[26]

Largest employers by numbers of employees

According to the city's annual list of top employers,[27] the following are the City of Greeley's largest employers as of 1/5/2023:

# Employer # of Employees
1 JBS USA 5,141
2 Banner Health / North Colorado Medical Center 4,558
3 Greeley-Evans School District 6 2,258
4 Weld County 1,823
5 University of Northern Colorado 1,221
6 City of Greeley 1,145
7 University of Colorado Health Systems (All Weld) 1,030
8 State Farm 857
9 Aims Community College 817
10 North Range Behavioral Health 560

Military

The 233rd Space Group is a unit of the Colorado Air National Guard located at Greeley Air National Guard Station. It is adjacent to the Greeley–Weld County Airport and makes use of its runways.

Arts and culture

The Union Colony Civic Center, a performing arts facility in Greeley.

In 2014 the Greeley Creative District was certified as an official Creative District by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.[28]

First known as the Greeley Spud Rodeo in 1922, the summer celebration was renamed the Greeley Independence Stampede by 1972. This locally famous event typically lasts nearly two weeks leading up to Independence Day. Including events like a demolition derby, rodeos, carnival rides and games, food vendors, live musical performances, and even a 4th of July parade; this yearly tradition has grown to draw-in visitors from neighboring cities and states. The average yearly attendance to the event is nearly 250,000.[29]

Union Colony Civic Center

Greeley is home to the Union Colony Civic Center, one of the largest performing arts venues in Colorado. The 1686 seat Monfort Concert Hall hosts touring Broadway musicals, concerts, comedians, along with regional and local performing arts groups. The 214 seat Hensel Phelps Theatre hosts The Stampede Troupe in addition to lectures, meetings, and smaller performances. In addition, the Tointon Gallery presents a dozen exhibits annually by local, regional, and national artists, and is free to the public.

Owned and operated by the City of Greeley, the Union Colony Civic Center sponsors many events held by the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, the Greeley Chorale and the Stampede Troupe theater company.

Government

City Hall

Greeley operates under a council-manager system of government, where the city council, composed of 7 members, adopts laws and policies for the city, in addition to establishing priorities. This council includes elected members from each of the four wards, two at-large members, and the mayor.

Education

Guggenheim Hall, University of Northern Colorado.

Primary and secondary schools

Main article: Greeley-Evans School District 6

In 2021, there were an estimated 20,442 children ages 5–18 living in Greeley, about 18.7% of the population.

Cache la Poudre river. Many public schools offer one or more magnet programs, which enable students from around the district to attend public schools other than their assigned neighborhood school to participate in a unique educational program. Examples include Greeley West High School's International Baccalaureate and agriculture programs, Greeley Central High School's arts magnet program, and Northridge High School
's science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and horticulture programs.

In addition to the school district's own schools, it also charters and oversees six charter schools:

University Schools (K–12), Frontier Academy (K–12), West Ridge Academy (K–8), Salida del Sol (K–8, bilingual school), Union Colony Elementary School (K–5), Union Colony Preparatory School (6–12).[32] The district also partially is affiliated with four "community partner" preschools, which are private preschools all or partially funded and overseen by the school district.[33][34] Many of the district's charter high schools and non-traditional public high schools maintain a relationship with Aims Community College and/or the University of Northern Colorado
to provide supplemental courses for high school students.

There are at least five wholly private primary or secondary schools inside the Greeley city limits: St. Mary's Catholic School (P–7), Dayspring Christian School (P–12), Trinity Lutheran School (P–6), Adventure Child Care Center (P–6), and the Colorado Heritage Educational School System (K–12). Additionally, there are at least three private preschools: #1 Child Enrichment-Superior Childcare, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Preschool, and ABC Central.[35] In Colorado, private schools are considered businesses and are not regulated by the Colorado Department of Education or local school boards. In 2021, the Greeley-Evans school district reported 229 students who are home-schooled full-time; some number of these students may be affiliated with a private school for record-keeping purposes and some may attend public or charter schools for a few courses, making the exact number of home-schooled students in Greeley difficult to specify.[36]

Colleges and universities

Colleges and universities in Greeley include University of Northern Colorado, a public university with an enrollment of around 9,000 students, Aims Community College, IBMC College, and the Academy of Natural Therapy.

Media

Main article: Media in Greeley, Colorado

Infrastructure

Health care

North Colorado Medical Center, a full-service hospital, is one of Greeley's largest employers.

North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley opened in 1904, and is the primary medical facility for Weld County.

Police

Founded in 1871, the Greeley Police Department is one of the ten largest police departments in Colorado, employing 64 non-sworn members, and 157 sworn members.[37]

Since 2006, the Greeley Police Department has received more than $2.3 million of tactical military equipment from the United States Department of Defense.[38]

Transportation

Public transportation in Greeley is provided by Greeley-Evans Transit (GET), which operates seven local bus routes across Greeley.[39] Since January 2, 2020, GET operates a regional bus service called the Poudre Express which connects Greeley to Fort Collins and Windsor. Express Arrow also operates buses to Denver and Buffalo stopping at multiple other cities along the way.

Notable people

A replica Statue of Liberty in Greeley

In popular culture

A fictionalized Greeley was featured heavily in the

animated television show South Park, titled "The Poor Kid". The episode sees main characters Kenny McCormick and Eric Cartman move to the town, after being put into foster care.[48]

Sister cities

Greeley is a sister city to Moriya, a city located in Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture. The cities host a collaborative student exchange program—on odd-numbered years the City of Greeley sponsors ten high-school students to visit Moriya for a week, and on even-numbered years Greeley hosts students from the city.[49] From 2020 until at least 2022, the student exchange aspect of the program was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Active Colorado Municipalities". Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Greeley". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  3. ^ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d "Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data". United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce. August 12, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  5. ^ "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on November 4, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2007.
  6. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  7. ^ "Greeley, Colorado History for Kids". Greeleyhistory.org. July 21, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  8. ^
    ISBN 0-19-507806-3
  9. ^ "History of Greeley". Greeleygov.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  10. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Greeley" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 533.
  11. ^ Dawson, John Frank. Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 25.
  12. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 143.
  13. ^ "Colorado Judicial Branch". courts.state.co.us.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Greeley History Museum". GreeleyHistoryMuseum. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  15. ^ Judiciary, United States Congress House Committee on the (1934). Birth Control: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Seventy-third Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 5978 ... January 18, 19, 1934. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  16. New York Times
    by Julia Preston, December 13, 2006
  17. ^ Hamling, Alison. "DDA Dr. of Experience". Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  18. ISBN 0899332889
  19. ^ UCAR: Hail Archived 2009-10-15 at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ^ "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  21. ^ "NOAA Online Weather Data". National Weather Service. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  22. ^ "U.S. Census data.census.gov website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 15, 2023.,U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey 1-year estimates; accessed 8/15/2023
  23. ^ "DP03 Selected Economic Characteristics". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  24. ^ "DP02 Selected Social Characteristics". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey 1-year estimates. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  25. Denver Post
    . Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  26. ^ "Greeley, CO". Leprino Foods. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  27. ^ "Greeley's Top Employers". City of Greeley, Economic Development Data. City of Greeley. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  28. ^ "Colorado Creative Districts", Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  29. ^ "Our Roots". www.greeleystampede.org.
  30. ^ "DP05 ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, Greeley city, Colorado". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey 1-year estimates. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  31. ^ "Our District / Welcome". www.greeleyschools.org. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  32. ^ "List of All Charter Schools (2021-2022); 2022 School Codes". Colorado Department of Education. 2021. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  33. ^ "Our Locations / Early Childhood School Locations". www.greeleyschools.org. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  34. ^ "CPP and Community Partners | CDE". www.cde.state.co.us. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  35. ^ "2019-20 Non-Public School Fall Pupil Count". Colorado Department of Education. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  36. ^ "2021-22 Home Based Education Trend Data". Colorado Department of Education. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  37. ^ "About". Greeley Police Department. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  38. ^ Musgrave, Shawn; Meagher, Tom; Vong, Iva r; Dance, Gabriel (December 5, 2014). "The Pentagon Finally Details its Weapons-for-Cops Giveaway". MuckRock News. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  39. ^ "Routes and Schedules". Greeley Evans Transit. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  40. NFL.com
    . Retrieved March 5, 2013. Reed Doughty, #37 DB, Washington Redskins. Born: 11/4/1982 Greeley , CO College: Northern Colorado
  41. ^ "UNC Notable Alumni". Weld County Government. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  42. ^ Cristi, A. A. (August 25, 2021). "The 8th Annual AgriCulture Feast at Centennial Village Museum Will Feature Food & Music By Colorado Talent". Broadwayworld.com. BroadwayWorld. Retrieved October 27, 2021. Guests will enjoy appetizers and drinks provided by local brewers and be entertained by local musicians, including a new University of Northern Colorado doctoral student/ graduate teaching assistant, Edward W. Hardy, as they experience the Centennial Village Museum grounds and gardens. Local agricultural producers will share their stories and meet and greet friends.
  43. ^ "Taryn Hemmings". ChicagoRedStars.com. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  44. ^ "Greeley math whiz cracks old equation". greeleytribune.com. April 17, 2005. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  45. ^ "Biography, Senator Andrew Perchlik". legislature.vermont.gov. Montpelier, VT: Vermont General Assembly. 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  46. ^ Delaney, Anne (February 6, 2019). "Greeley's Sharktooth Ski Area lives on through history, Facebook page". The Greeley Tribune. Greeley, CO.
  47. ^ Robert Siegel (May 6, 2003). "Sayyid Qutb's America: Al Qaeda Inspiration Denounced U.S. Greed, Sexuality". NPR. Egyptian writer and educator Sayyid Qutb spent the better half of 1949 in Greeley, Colo., studying curriculum at Colorado State Teachers College, now the University of Northern Colorado. What he saw prompted him to condemn America as a soulless, materialistic place that no Muslim should aspire to live in.
  48. ^ "The Poor Kid". Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
  49. ^ "Sister City Program | City of Greeley". greeleygov.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.

External links

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