The Town of Breckenridge is the

home rule municipality Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

that is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

and the most populous municipality of Summit County,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, United States. The town population was 5,078 at the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

. Breckenridge is the principal town of the

Breckenridge, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area Summit County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,055. The county seat and largest town is Breckenridge. Summit County comprises the Breckenridge, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...

. The town also has many part-time residents, as many people have vacation homes in the area. The town is located at the base of the

Tenmile Range The Tenmile Range is a mountain range in U.S. state of Colorado. The range is an extension of the Mosquito Range which is part of the Rocky Mountains. The two ranges are effectively the same range. They are split only by the Continental Divide a ...

. Since ski trails were first cut in 1961,

Breckenridge Ski Resort Breckenridge Ski Resort is an alpine ski resort in the western United States, in Breckenridge, Colorado. Just west of the Continental Divide in Summit County, it is perennially one of the most visited ski resorts in the western hemisphere. Br ...

has made the town a popular destination for skiers. Summer in Breckenridge attracts outdoor enthusiasts with hiking trails,

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...

fly-fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly differ ...

in the Blue River, mountain biking, nearby

Lake Dillon Dillon Reservoir, sometimes referred to as Lake Dillon, is a large fresh water reservoir located in Summit County, Colorado, United States, south of I-70 and bordered by the towns of Frisco, Silverthorne, and Dillon. It is a reservoir for the ...

for boating, white water rafting, three

alpine slide A summer toboggan is an amusement or recreational ride which uses a bobsled-like sled or cart to run down a track usually built on the side of a hill. There are two main types: an Alpine coaster or mountain coaster is a type of roller coaste ...

s, a roller coaster, and many shops and restaurants up and down Main Street. The historic buildings along Main Street with their clapboard and log exteriors add to the charm of the town. Since 1981, Breckenridge hosts the Breckenridge Festival of Film in September. In January each year since the 21st century there is a Backcountry Film Festival. That is held at about the same time as the Ullr Fest, a week of celebrating snow and honoring the Norse god

Ullr In Norse mythology, Ullr (Old Norse: ) is a god associated with archery. Although literary attestations of Ullr are sparse, evidence including relatively ancient place-name evidence from Scandinavia suggests that he was a major god in earlier ...

. There are many summer activities, including an annual Fourth of July parade.

Name

The first prospectors in the area built a stockade known as Fort Mary B named after Mary Bigelow who was the only

white woman ''White Woman'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Stuart Walker and starring Carole Lombard, Charles Laughton, and Charles Bickford.''The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1931-40'' published by The American Film ...

in the party. The town of Breckenridge was founded in November 1859 and named for prospector Thomas Breckenridge. In 1860, General

George E. Spencer George Eliphaz Spencer (November 1, 1836 – February 19, 1893) was an American politician and a U.S. senator from the state of Alabama who also served as an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Biography Born in Champion, Ne ...

persuaded the citizens to change the spelling the town's name to Breckinridge in honor of U.S. Vice President

John Cabell Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

in the hopes of gaining a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

. Spencer succeeded in his plan and the Breckinridge Post Office became the first post office between the Continental Divide and

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. When Breckinridge accepted a commission as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

in 1861, the town promptly changed its name back to the original Breckenridge.

History

Prospectors entered what is now Summit County (then part of

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

) during the

Pikes Peak Gold Rush The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 ...

of 1859, soon after the

placer gold Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer mining is frequently used for p ...

discoveries east of Breckenridge near

Idaho Springs The City of Idaho Springs is the Statutory City that is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 ...

. Breckenridge was founded to serve the miners working rich placer gold deposits discovered along the Blue River. Placer gold mining was soon joined by

hard rock mining Underground hard-rock mining refers to various underground mining techniques used to excavate "hard" minerals, usually those containing metals, such as ore containing gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, tin, and lead. It also involves the ...

, as prospectors followed the gold to its source

veins Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...

in the hills. Gold in some upper gravel benches east of the Blue River was recovered by hydraulic mining. Gold production decreased in the late 1800s, but revived in 1908 by gold dredging operations along the Blue River and Swan River. The Breckenridge mining district is credited with production of about one million

troy ounces Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in 15th-century England, and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and the ...

(about 31,000 kilograms) of gold. The gold mines around Breckenridge are all shut down, although some are open to tourist visits. The characteristic gravel ridges left by the gold dredges can still be seen along the Blue River and Snake River, and the remains of a dredge are still afloat in a pond off the Swan River. Notable among the early prospectors was Edwin Carter, a log cabin naturalist who decided to switch from mining to collecting wildlife specimens. His log cabin, built in 1875, still stands today and has been recently renovated by the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance with interactive exhibits and a small viewing room with a short creative film on his life and the early days around Breckenridge. Harry Farncomb found the source of the French Gulch placer gold on Farncomb Hill in 1878. His strike, Wire Patch, consisted of alluvial gold in wire, leaf and crystalline forms. By 1880, he owned the hill. Farncomb later discovered a gold vein, which became the Wire Patch Mine. Other vein discoveries included Ontario, Key West, Boss, Fountain, and Gold Flake.Voynick, S.M., 1992, Colorado Gold, Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company, The Breckenridge Heritage Alliance reports that in the 1930s, a women's group in Breckenridge stumbled upon an 1880s map that failed to include Breckenridge. They speculated that Breckenridge had never been officially annexed into the United States, and was thus still considered "No Man's Land". This was completely false—official US maps did include Breckenridge—but these women created an incredibly clever marketing campaign out of this one map. In 1936 they invited the Governor of Colorado to Breckenridge to raise a flag at the Courthouse officially welcoming Breckenridge into the union—and he came. There was a big party, and the entire event/idea of Breckenridge being left off the map made national news. The "No Man's Land" idea later morphed into a new theme of Breckenridge being referred to as "Colorado's Kingdom", and the theme of the town's independent spirit is still celebrated to today during the annual "Kingdom Days" celebrations every June. Gold-263851

In December 1961, skiing was introduced to Breckenridge when several trails were cut on the lower part of Peak 8, connected to town by Ski Hill Road. In the 50-plus years since, the ski area was gradually expanded onto adjacent peaks, with trails opening on Peak 9 in the early 1970s, Peak 10 in 1985, Peak 7 in 2002, and Peak 6 in 2013. On November 3, 2009, voters passed ballot measure 2F by a nearly 3 to 1 margin (73%), which legalized marijuana possession for adults. The measure allows possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and also decriminalizes the possession of marijuana-related paraphernalia. Possession became legal January 1, 2010. Possession was still illegal by state law, however, until the passage of

Colorado Amendment 64 Colorado Amendment 64 was a successful popular initiative ballot measure to amend the Constitution of the State of Colorado, outlining a statewide drug policy for cannabis. The measure passed on November 6, 2012, and along with a similar meas ...

in 2012.

Geography

Breckenridge is located at . At the

, the town had a total area of , all of it land. The ski area has a total area of of land. The

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of Breckenridge is above sea level.

Climate

Breckenridge's climate is considered to be high-alpine with the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

ending at . The average humidity remains around 30% throughout the year. At the elevation of the weather station, the climate could be described as a variety of a subarctic climate ( Dfc) since summer means are above in spite of the very cool nights. Winter lows are quite severe, but the days averaging around the freezing mark somewhat moderate mean temperatures. A weather station was run in the town from 1893 to 1913, and from 1948 to the present day. However, temperature measurements are mostly confined to the first period, and the temperature record is thus very sparse. Even so, a temperature of freezing or below was recorded for every single date of the year except July 26.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 2,408 people, 1,081 households, and 380 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 4,270 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.56%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.37%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.33% Native American, 1.04%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.12% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.54% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 5.44% of the population. There were 1,081 households, out of which 13.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.9% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 64.8% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.61. In the town, the population was spread out, with 11.1% under the age of 18, 22.8% from 18 to 24, 45.3% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 2.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 160.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 164.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $43,938, and the median income for a family was $52,212. Males had a median income of $29,571 versus $27,917 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $29,675. About 5.2% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over. For 2009 the average price for a single family home in the Breckenridge area is $1,035,806 with a sold price per square foot of $314.00. For multifamily properties the average price is $560,689 with a sales price per square foot of $440. Land sales prices averaged $373,067.

Events

Breckenridge holds public events throughout the year.

Winter

Every January, the International Snow Sculpture Championships are held in Breckenridge, where sculptors from around the world compete to create works of art from twenty-ton blocks of snow. The annual winter Ullr Fest parade pays homage to the Norse god of snow

. The Backcountry Film Fest began in the 21st century, which happens in January. That is held about the same time as the Ullr Fest. Since winter of 2008-2009, the Freeway Terrain Park on Peak 8 hosts the

Winter Dew Tour The Dew Tour is an extreme sports circuit organized by the Adventure Sports Group, a subsidiary of American Media, LLC. History The tour was announced in late 2004, and made its debut in Louisville, KY in June 2005. The tour then made stops i ...

in December, featuring the biggest names in extreme snowboarding and skiing. Other events held on the mountain include the annual Imperial Challenge, Breck's version of a triathlon, The 5 Peaks, North America's longest ski mountaineering race, the Breck Ascent Series, with races up the mountain, as well as other competitions, festivals, and the annual Spring Fever month-long celebration at the end of the ski season with festivities and other celebrations around spring skiing.

Summer and fall

During the summer, Breckenridge is host to the

National Repertory Orchestra The National Repertory Orchestra (NRO) is an American summer symphony orchestra that offers full fellowships to train young professional musicians for careers in music through performances, masterclasses and workshops. Based in Breckenridge, Colo ...

and the Breckenridge Music Institute. Concerts are scheduled three to four nights a week. Full orchestra, ensembles, and contemporary artists perform at the Riverwalk Center, downtown near the Blue River. Several art fairs come to Breckenridge every summer, attracting many local artists and buyers. The town also puts on an annual Fourth of July celebration, featuring a parade in the morning and fireworks at night. In September each year since 1981, the Breckenridge Festival of film is held.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Breckenridge include: * Edwin Carter (c.1830-1900), miner, naturalist *

Jeff Cravath Newell Jefferson Cravath (February 3, 1903 – December 10, 1953) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach the University of Denver from 1929 to 1931, at the University of San Francisco in 1941, and at the U ...

(1903-1953), football coach * Barney Ford (1822-1902), Colorado businessman and civil-rights pioneer * Arielle Gold (1996- ), Olympic bronze medalist snowboarder *

Taylor Gold Taylor Gold (born November 17, 1993) is an American Olympian snowboarder. He competes in the halfpipe. He is a two-time U.S. Revolution Tour champion, 2013 Copper Mountain Grand Prix/World Cup champion, 2014 Burton US Open champion, and 2014 ...

(1993- ), Olympic snowboarder *

Al Jourgensen Alain David Jourgensen (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas; October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is b ...

(1958- ), singer-songwriter, producer * Heather McPhie (1984- ), U.S. Olympic freestyle/moguls skier *

Monique Merrill Monique Merrill (born May 26, 1969) is an American world champion adventure racer, ski mountaineer and marathon mountain biker. She studied at the University of Virginia. Merrill attended the Pine Crest School until 1987, and studied at the Unive ...

(1969- ), mountain biker, ski mountaineer *

J. R. Moehringer John Joseph Moehringer (born December 7, 1964), known by his pen name J. R. Moehringer, is an American novelist, journalist, and ghostwriter. In 2000, he won the Pulitzer Prize for newspaper feature writing. He collaborated on the 2021 film ...

(1964- ), novelist, reporter *

Helen Rich Helen Hinsdale Rich (, Hinsdale; June 18, 1827 - September 4, 1915), known as "The Poet of the Adirondacks", was a 19th-century American writer of poetry. She wrote and lectured in the causes of temperance and women's rights. She was the first wo ...

(1894-1971), novelist and journalist * Betsy Sodaro (1984- ), actress, comedian * Pete Swenson (1967- ), ski mountaineer * Belle Turnbull (1881-1970), poet *

Katie Uhlaender Katie Uhlaender (born July 17, 1984) is an American skeleton racer who has competed since 2003. She has won six medals at the FIBT World Championships with two gold (women's skeleton: FIBT World Championships 2012, mixed bobsleigh-skeleton team ...

(1984- ), U.S. Olympic skeleton racer

References

External links

Town of Breckenridge websiteCDOT map of the Town of BreckenridgeBreckenridge gold mining history
at Western Mining History {{Authority control County seats in Colorado Towns in Summit County, Colorado Towns in Colorado 1859 establishments in Utah Territory Populated places established in 1859