Castle Rock is a home rule town 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

Douglas County, Colorado Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 357,978. The county seat is Castle Rock. Douglas County is part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado, metropolitan statistica ...

, United States. The town population was 73,158 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 ...

, a 51.68% increase since the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

. Castle Rock is the most populous Colorado town (rather than city) and the 16th most populous Colorado municipality. Castle Rock is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. The town is named for the prominent, castle-shaped butte near the center of town.

History

The region in and around Castle Rock was originally home to the

Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho ba ...

and

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

peoples. They occupied the land between the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

and

South Platte The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. Its ...

Rivers. White settlers were drawn to the area by rumors of gold and by land opened through the

Homestead Act of 1862 The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...

. However, the discovery of rhyolite stone, not gold, ultimately led to the settlement of Castle Rock. Castle Rock was founded in 1874 when the eastern Douglas County border was redrawn to its present location. Castle Rock was chosen as the county seat because of its central location. One of the first homesteaders in the area near today's Castle Rock was Jeremiah Gould. He owned about to the south of "the (Castle) Rock." At that time, the settlement consisted of just a few buildings for prospectors, workers, and cowboys. In 1874, Gould donated to the new town, which was also now home to the Douglas County government. Six streets named Elbert, Jerry, Wilcox, Perry, Castle, and Front were laid out to build the actual town of Castle Rock. The courthouse square was defined and about 77 lots, each 50 by , were auctioned off for a total profit of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

3,400. A new train depot brought the Denver and Rio Grande Railway to the area. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Castle Rock had a very active rhyolite quarrying industry. Many immigrants arrived in the area to work in the quarries. In 1936, the town received a donation of land that included its namesake geographical feature. Men employed by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

constructed a star atop the butte shortly after Castle Rock received that donation. The star was lit every year from 1936 to 1941. After World War II began, the star was left unlit as a symbol of sacrifice in support of the war effort. On August 14, 1945, shortly after

V-J Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

, the star was modified into a V-for-victory symbol. On December 7, 1945, the star was lit for the holiday season. It has been lit every year since around the same time. The town's historic county courthouse, which was built in 1889–1890, burned down on March 11, 1978, the result of arson. Castle Rock's municipal government experienced significant financial difficulties during the early 1980s. In 1984, the town's voters approved a charter amendment that authorized the creation of a

home-rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

charter commission. The home-rule charter was finalized in 1987. The original Douglas County courthouse was one of seven buildings in Castle Rock that have been added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The other buildings include Castle Rock Depot, Castle Rock Elementary School, First National Bank of Douglas County, Samuel Dyer House, Benjamin Hammer House, and Keystone Hotel. A dispute about whether the Castle Rock Police Department was required to enforce a civil restraining order was decided by the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in 2005. The court held, in '' Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales'', that a municipality cannot be held liable under a federal civil-rights statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for failing to enforce civil restraining orders. The case had arisen from a 1999 murder of three young girls by their father outside the Castle Rock Police Department building. The children were abducted by their father, in violation of the restraining order that had been obtained by their mother, within several hours of being killed. The mother had asked the Castle Rock police to enforce the restraining order, by finding and apprehending the father after he removed the children from her home and before the murders. Castle Rock police officers declined to do so, refusing even to contact the Denver Police Department after the mother notified them that the father had taken the children to an amusement park in that city.

Geography

Castle Rock butte in Castle Rock Colorado

Castle Rock is located at (39.372212, −104.856090) at an elevation of 6,224 feet (1,897 m). Castle Rock is in central Colorado at the junction of Interstate 25 and State Highway 86, south of downtown Denver and north of Colorado Springs. The town lies a few miles east of the

Rampart Range The Rampart Range is a mountain range in Douglas, El Paso, and Teller counties, Colorado. It is part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The range is almost entirely public land within the Pike National Forest The Pike National Forest ...

of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

on the western edge of the Great Plains. Castle Rock, the butte for which the town is named, is just north of the town center. Other prominent landforms visible from Castle Rock include Dawson Butte, Devils Head,

Mount Evans Mount Evans is the highest peak in the Mount Evans Wilderness in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 14,271-foot (4,350 m) fourteener is located southwest by south ( bearing 214°) of Idaho Springs in Clear C ...

, and

Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou S ...

. East Plum Creek, a stream within the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. It ...

watershed, flows generally north through Castle Rock. Hangman's Gulch, which runs northwest then west around the north side of the town center, drains into East Plum Creek, as do multiple unnamed gulches in the southern and western areas of town. McMurdo Gulch and Mitchell Gulch run north then northeast through eastern Castle Rock and drain into Cherry Creek east of town. Castle Rock is in the Colorado Foothills Life Zone. The hillsides are covered with meadows of grass, small plants, scattered juniper trees and open

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

woodlands. Other trees common in the area include

Gambel oak ''Quercus gambelii'', with the common name Gambel oak, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub that is widespread in the foothills and lower mountains of western North America. It is also regionally called scrub oak, oak brush, and white oak. ...

(scrub oak or oak brush) and

pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple food of Native Americans, and widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in Ne ...

. Local wildlife includes the

American badger The American badger (''Taxidea taxus'') is a North American badger similar in appearance to the European badger, although not closely related. It is found in the western, central, and northeastern United States, northern Mexico, and south-cent ...

, American black bear, bobcat, coyote, Colorado chipmunk,

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

garter snakes Garter snake is a common name for generally harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus ''Thamnophis'' in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus ''Thamnophis'' can be found from the sub ...

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littor ...

, mountain

cottontail rabbit Cottontail rabbits are the leporid species in the genus ''Sylvilagus'', found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this ...

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

pocket gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They are ...

, porcupine, skunk, and

tadpoles A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in ...

. Birds found in the area include the

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

, peregrine falcon,

sharp-shinned hawk The sharp-shinned hawk (''Accipiter striatus'') is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. The taxonomy is fa ...

black-billed magpie The black-billed magpie (''Pica hudsonia''), also known as the American magpie, is a bird in the corvid family found in the western half of North America. It is black and white, with black areas on the wings and tail showing iridescent hints o ...

red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members wit ...

pinyon jay The pinyon jay (''Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus'') is a species of jay, and is the only member of the genus ''Gymnorhinus''. Native to Western North America, the species ranges from central Oregon to northern Baja California, and eastward as far as ...

, and

western tanager The western tanager (''Piranga ludoviciana''), is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), other members of its genus and it are classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species's pluma ...

. At the

, the town had a total area of , all of it land. Lying within the Front Range Urban Corridor, the town is part of the greater Denver metropolitan area. Castle Rock borders three communities, all to its north; from west to east, they are Castle Pines Village, the city of Castle Pines, and The Pinery. Other nearby communities include Franktown to the east, Larkspur to the south, Perry Park to the southwest, and Sedalia to the northwest.

Climate

Castle Rock has a

semiarid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BSk'') with cold, dry, snowy winters, and hot, wetter summers. January is the coldest month, July the hottest, and August the month with the most precipitation. Statewide, Colorado has experienced an average temperature increase of about over the past half-century. Given its location in the center of the state, it is expected that Castle Rock will experience continuing warming and higher average temperatures through the 21st century as the effects of climate change continue to be felt. Daily minimum temperatures are also expected to continue rising, as they have for the past 30 years. The town will also likely experience less snowfall, earlier snowmelt and runoff during the spring, and increased water uptake by plants.

Neighborhoods

Castle Rock's ZIP codes include many neighborhoods: North of Downtown / West of I-25 * The Meadows * Castle Pines Village Castle Rock encompasses about , with a population of more than 42,000 in town and 70,000 in the surrounding area.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 48,231 people, 16,688 households, and 12,974 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 17,626 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 90.7%

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 ...

, 1.7%

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 ...

, 1.1%

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 ...

, 0.6% American Indian, 0.1%

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 ...

, 2.9% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 10.0% of the population. There were 16,688 households, out of which 48.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.4% were married couples living together, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86, and the average family size was 3.27. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.4% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males age 18 and over. The median income for a household in the town was $85,461, and the median income for a family was $95,973. Males had a median income of $66,993 versus $47,087 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 $34,089. About 4.0% of families and 6.2% 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 8.2% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over. Castle Rock is the 16th most populous municipality in Colorado and is the center of the burgeoning

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

of the county.

Economy

Because of its Front Range location between Denver and its inner suburbs and Colorado Springs, many of Castle Rock's residents commute nearly 20 miles to northern

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

or the

Denver Technological Center Denver Technological Center, better known as The Denver Tech Center or DTC, is a business and economic trading center located in Colorado in the southeastern portion of the Denver Metropolitan Area, within portions of the cities of Denver and Gre ...

, better known as "The Denver Tech Center" (DTC), which is an 18-mile drive north on

I-25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

, with Downtown

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

roughly 30 miles north, and Denver International Airport about 45 miles north. In fact, about 80% of Castle Rock residents commute out of town to work. The average one-way commute time for a Castle Rock resident is about 29 minutes, longer than the U.S. average. One reason for this is that the town has not yet attracted the variety or extent of employers needed to significantly lower the number of commuters to work outside Castle Rock. The town has relatively little land zoned for industrial or light industrial use, with the vast majority of the land within town limits dedicated to residential construction only. As of 2011, 78.2% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force, 0.4% was in the armed forces, and 77.7% were in the civilian labor force, with 72.6% employed and 5.1% unemployed. The employed civilian labor force was 48.0% in management, business, science, and arts; 25.8% in sales and office occupations; 14.7% in service occupations; 6.4% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance; and 5.2% in production, transportation, and material moving. The three industries employing the largest proportion of the working civilian labor force were educational services, health care, and social assistance (15.5%); professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (13.2%); and finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (12.6%). Castle Rock's cost of living is above average. Compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the town is 137.2. As of mid-2019, the median home value in the town was $427,537. The median gross monthly rent for an apartment was about $1,461. The town's housing base continues to grow. About 1,400 permits to build new homes were issued in 2018.

Government and politics

Castle Rock is a

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 ...

with a council–manager form of government. The Town's governing body is the Town Council, made up of seven members including the mayor and mayor pro-tem. Each councilmember is elected to represent an election district, and the mayor is elected to represent the Town at large. One member, appointed by the council, serves as the mayor pro-tem. Castle Rock voters approved a change to the town charter that authorized an at-large mayor in 2017. The mayor presides over council meetings and casts one vote, like other councilmembers. The council sets policy for the town, adopts ordinances, approves the town budget, makes major land-use decisions, and appoints key town government staff including the

town manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief exec ...

, town attorney, municipal judge, and members of town boards and commissions. The town manager supervises all departments, prepares and implements the town budget, and works with the council to develop policies and propose new plans. Tax revenues are used to provide general government, fire, police, parks maintenance and programs, street maintenance and operations, support for recreation, and planning and code enforcement services. The town also provides development services, golf, water, and sewer services to residents through self-supporting enterprise funds. The average annual municipal property tax bill of a Castle Rock resident is $40.66. That is in addition to property taxes assessed by Douglas County and other entities. As the

, Castle Rock is the administrative center of Douglas County. The county courthouse, the Douglas County Justice Center, is north of downtown, and most departments of the county government base their operations in the town. As of 2013, Castle Rock lies within Colorado's 4th U.S. Congressional District. The town is in the 4th district of the Colorado Senate and the 45th district of the Colorado House of Representatives. Castle Rock is the county seat of Douglas County, a Republican stronghold in Colorado.

Education

Primary and secondary education

Douglas County School District is based in Castle Rock and operates 18

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

schools in the town. These include ten elementary schools, two middle schools, two charter schools, one magnet school, one

alternative high school Alternative High School (AHS) is a public senior high (secondary) school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; which teaches grades 10 through 12. AHS is currently located at the Clinton Ford Centre, which was home to the former Clinton Ford Elementary Sc ...

, and two high schools:

Castle View High School Castle View High School is a public high school in Castle Rock, Colorado Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 73,158 a ...

and Douglas County High School. In addition, there are three private primary schools in Castle Rock. School board elections in Douglas County are held in odd-numbered years. In recent years the community has experienced a spirited debate between supporters of significant change in the management of local schools and those who oppose such changes or believe they should advance at a slower pace.

Libraries

The Douglas County Libraries public library system is based in Castle Rock, co-located with the local branch library, the Philip S. Miller Library, south of downtown. The Miller Library includes the Douglas County History Research Center and offers several educational and recreational programs to the public. Also, it includes

Little Free Library Little Free Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes neighborhood book exchanges, usually in the form of a public bookcase. More than 150,000 public book exchanges are registered with the organization and branded as Little Fre ...

s places scattered throughout, such as in festival park.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Interstate 25 and U.S. Route 87 run concurrently north-south through Castle Rock.

U.S. Route 85 U.S. Route 85 (US 85) is a north–south United States Highway that travels in the Mountain and Northern Plains states of the United States. The southern terminus of the highway is at the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, connecting wi ...

, also a north-south route, enters the town from the northwest, meeting I-25 at Exit 184; south of the exit, it runs concurrently with I-25 and U.S. 87.

Colorado State Highway 86 State Highway 86 (SH 86) is a state highway in the U.S. State of Colorado. It runs from Interstate 25 (I-25), U.S. Route 85 (US 85) and US 87 in Castle Rock, eastward to I-70 and US 40 near Limon. It gives service through eastern Castle Ro ...

, an east-west route, enters Castle Rock from the east, then turns north and west as Founders Parkway, terminating at its junction with I-25 at Exit 184. For local transportation within Castle Rock, the town government sponsors a

voucher A voucher is a bond of the redeemable transaction type which is worth a certain monetary value and which may be spent only for specific reasons or on specific goods. Examples include housing, travel, and food vouchers. The term voucher is also ...

program for reduced-fare taxi service. This service is available to town residents who are disabled or who do not have access to a vehicle. In addition, the Castle Rock Senior Center offers a shuttle service for resident senior citizens. Castle Rock does not participate in the Denver metropolitan area's

Regional Transportation District The Regional Transportation District, more commonly referred to as RTD, is the regional agency operating public transit services in eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in the U.S. state of Col ...

. Municipal voters decided in November 2005 to opt the town out of RTD. As a result, neither bus nor light rail service to Denver or any of its other suburbs is available from Castle Rock. BNSF Railway and

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

each have a freight rail line that runs through Castle Rock. Both lines run parallel to U.S. 85.

Utilities and water

The Intermountain Rural Electric Association, based in nearby Sedalia, provides electric power. Black Hills Energy provides natural gas service.

Waste Management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

and other businesses provide trash removal. The town government's Utilities Department oversees water provision, distribution, and infrastructure maintenance. Historically, nearly all of the water needed by Castle Rock residents was pumped from aquifers below the ground, including th
Denver Basin aquifer
Beginning in 2013, when the town developed its first strategic plan for the management of water, Castle Rock has moved toward more use of surface water. Between 2006 and 2018 per capita water use in Castle Rock declined from 137 gallons to 115 gallons. Starting in 2020, Castle Rock expects to begin treating sink, tap, and toilet water to drinkable water quality standards so that it can be reused. The town aims to achieve a goal of reliance upon renewable water resources for 75% of municipal needs by 2050 and, by 2020, about one-third of all water used in Castle Rock is expected to be from a reusable source. As of July 2019 Castle Rock, Denver, and Pitkin County are the first three Colorado municipal or county governments to adopt a stat
regulation
governing

greywater Greywater (or grey water, sullage, also spelled gray water in the United States) refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination, i.e., all streams except for the wastewater fro ...

reuse.

Health care

Castle Rock has several medical offices, an urgent care, and an emergency room. Castle Rock Adventist Hospital, a full-service hospital, opened on August 1, 2013. The 50-bed hospital offers comprehensive health care to the Douglas County area, with labor and delivery suites, NICU, orthopedic surgery, ICU, and medical imaging.

Media

Castle Rock has a weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

, ''The Douglas County News-Press''. Castle Rock is part of the Denver radio and television market.

Radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

KJMN KJMN (92.1 FM, "La Suavecita 92.1") is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish adult hits format licensed to Castle Rock, Colorado, United States, serving the Denver-Boulder area. The station is currently owned by Entravision Holdings, LLC. It ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

to Castle Rock, but broadcasts from Denver playing a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Adult Hits format on 92.1 FM. Denver radio station 850 KOA, which broadcasts a

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

and sports format, operates its 50,000 watt transmitter from a site 10 miles northeast of downtown Castle Rock, in the town of Parker. Another Denver station, KAMP (1430 AM), a CBS Sports Radio affiliate with a

Sports Radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on ...

format, operates its transmitter from Highlands Ranch, 13 miles north of downtown Castle Rock.

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

programming can be heard on Colorado Public Radio's

KCFR-FM KCFR-FM (90.1 Hertz, MHz) is a radio station in Denver, Denver, Colorado, which is owned and operated by Colorado Public Radio and simulcast to several AM and FM stations throughout the state. The signals from some of these stations also extend ...

. Castle Rock is also served by the AM signal of

KGNU KGNU (1390 AM) & KGNU-FM (88.5 FM) are a pair of community radio stations licensed to Denver and Boulder, Colorado respectively. KGNU is owned by Boulder Community Broadcast Association, Inc. History KFML 1390 AM was first licensed on April 4 ...

, a non-commercial affiliate of PRI, Pacifica, and the BBC World Service, and which also provides diverse music programming.

Television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the eart ...

KETD KETD (channel 53) is a television station licensed to Castle Rock, Colorado, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Estrella TV network to the Denver area. Owned and operated by Estrella Media, the station maintains offices on East Jam ...

, an affiliate of the

Estrella TV Estrella TV () is an American Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by the Estrella Media subsidiary of HPS Investment Partners, LLC. The network primarily features programs, the vast majority of which are produced by the network ...

network, broadcasts on digital channel 46. Licensed to Castle Rock, the station is located near

Centennial, Colorado Centennial is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,418 at the 2020 United States Census, making Centennial the 11th most populous municipality in Colorado. Centennial is a part ...

Parks and recreation

Castle Rock's open space and parks comprise 27% the town's total land area ( of parks and open space / total land area). Additionally, there are nearly of soft-surface and paved trails.

Culture

Points of interest

Philip S. Miller Park is the largest park project in Castle Rock. "Phase One" of the park was opened to the public on October 25, 2014. It remains under construction. The park is named after a local banker and philanthropist who, with his wife, Jerry, left trust monies to Castle Rock in the mid-1990s. The Phillip S. Miller Activity Center is included in the park's 300 acres. The Castle Rock Historical Museum is in the former Denver and Rio Grande Railway depot building on Elbert Street. This building is purported to have been built in 1875. It is made of rhyolite taken from local quarries. The museum depicts how Castle Rock has changed over the years.

Sports

From 1986 through 2006, a professional golf tournament was held in Castle Pines Village. The International, a

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

event, was held in August at the Castle Pines Golf Club.

Events

Castle Rock star lighting

Since 1936, every Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Town of Castle Rock lights the electric star upon Castle Rock. A lighting event is held downtown that night and is usually accompanied by a fireworks display. The star remains lit from the week before Thanksgiving to the end of the National Western Stock Show in January. This has changed multiple times, following World War II it was changed to a V, also, the same year as the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

being in the Super Bowl, it was changed to orange and blue. Throughout part of the lockdown in early 2020 due to COVID-19, the star was relit as a symbol of unity.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Castle Rock include: *

Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...

(born 1974), actress * Kirsten Bomblies (born 1973), biologist *

Kat Cammack Kathryn Christine Cammack ( ; born February 16, 1988) is an American politician and political advisor serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 3rd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, Cammack previously served as dep ...

- United States Representative for Florida's 3rd Congressional District * Jim Cottrell (born 1983), NFL

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Gary Hallberg Gary George Hallberg (born May 31, 1958) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and Champions Tour. Amateur career Hallberg was born in Berwyn, Illinois. He attended Wake Forest University in Wins ...

(born 1958), professional

golfer Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wit ...

Beth Malone Elizabeth Ann "Beth" Malone (born January 2, 1969) is an American actress and singer known for her work in Broadway, off-Broadway and regional theatre. She originated the role of Alison Bechdel in the musical ''Fun Home'', for which she was nomin ...

(born 1969), actress *

Christian McCaffrey Christian Jackson McCaffrey (born June 7, 1996) is an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers eighth overa ...

(born 1996), professional football player (running back) * Max McCaffrey (born 1994), professional football player (wide receiver) *

Nelson Rangell Nelson Rangell (born March 26, 1960) is an American smooth jazz musician and composer from Castle Rock, Colorado. Although he is known for his work with the tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, his primary instrument is the piccolo, which he beg ...

(born 1960), jazz musician *

Edward Seidensticker Edward George Seidensticker (February 11, 1921 – August 26, 2007) was an American noted post-World War II scholar, historian, and preeminent translator of classical and contemporary Japanese literature. His English translation of the epic '' Th ...

(1921–2007),

Japanologist Japanese studies ( Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanes ...

* Ann Strother (born 1983), WNBA player, coach

Gallery

File:Pikes Peak as seen from Castle Rock CO.JPG, View of

from Rock Park in Castle Rock File:Devils Head taken from Ridgeline Open Space.JPG, View of

Devil's Head Lookout Devil's Head Lookout is a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout tower at the summit of Devils Head in Douglas County, Colorado. Located on a large pinnacle of Pikes Peak granite, the fire lookout point lies within the Pike National Forest and is ac ...

from Ridgeline Open Space in Castle Rock File:Mount Evans as seen from Castle Rock CO.JPG, View of

from Rock Park in Castle Rock File:Rock Park in Castle Rock CO.JPG, View from Rock Park Lookout Area in Castle Rock File:Pikes Peak taken from I-25 in Castle Rock CO.jpg, View of

from

in Castle Rock File:The Meadows in Castle Rock Colorado taken from Daniels Park.jpg, View of The Meadows neighborhood taken from Daniels Park File:Castlerockco.JPG, Castle Rock as seen from

File:Trail at Rock Park, Castle Rock, CO IMG 5207.JPG, Hiking trail at Rock Park in Castle Rock

References

External links

Town of Castle Rock websiteCDOT map of the Town of Castle RockVisit Castle Rock
{{authority control Towns in Douglas County, Colorado Towns in Colorado County seats in Colorado Denver metropolitan area 1874 establishments in Colorado Territory Populated places established in 1874