Cañon City 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 ...

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

Fremont County, Colorado Fremont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 48,939. The county seat is Cañon City, Colorado, Cañon City. The county is named for 19th-century explorer a ...

, United States. The city population was 17,141 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 ...

. Cañon City is the principal city of the

Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

and is a part of the Front Range Urban Corridor. Cañon City straddles the easterly flowing

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

and is a popular tourist destination for sightseeing,

whitewater rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

, and rock climbing. The city is known for its many public parks, fossil discoveries, Skyline Drive, The Royal Gorge railroad, the Royal Gorge, and extensive natural hiking paths. In 1994, the United States Board on Geographic Names approved adding the

tilde The tilde () or , is a grapheme with several uses. The name of the character came into English from Spanish, which in turn came from the Latin '' titulus'', meaning "title" or "superscription". Its primary use is as a diacritic (accent) i ...

to the official name of Cañon City, a change from Canon City as the official name in its decisions of 1906 and 1975. It is one of the few U.S. cities to have the Spanish Ñ in its name, others being

La Cañada Flintridge, California La Cañada Flintridge, commonly known as "La Cañada" (Spanish for "The Canyon"), is a city in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles County, California. Located in the Crescenta Valley, in the western edge of Southern Califor ...

;

Española, New Mexico Española is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Founded as a railroad village some distance from the old Indian town of San Juan de l ...

;

Peñasco, New Mexico Peñasco is a census-designated place (CDP) in Taos County Taos County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,937. Its county seat is Taos. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the origina ...

; and

Peñitas, Texas Peñitas is a U.S. city in Hidalgo County, Texas. The population was 6,103 at the 2020 census, up from 1,167 at the 2000 census. It is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas. Geography Peñitas is l ...

History

Cañon City was laid out on January 17, 1858, during the

Pike's 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 ...

, but then the land was left idle. A new company "jumped the claim" to the town's site in late 1859, and it put up the first building in February 1860. This town was originally intended as a commercial center for

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

in South Park and the upper Arkansas River.

1860s to 1900

In 1861, the town raised two companies of volunteers to serve with the Second Colorado Infantry during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. This regiment fought in skirmishes in nearby

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

and as far east as the Indian Territory ( Oklahoma) and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

before ending its organization in 1865. In 1862, A. M. Cassaday drilled for

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

north of Cañon City, close to a known oil seep. Cassaday struck oil at the depth of , and he completed the first commercial oil well west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. He drilled five or six more wells nearby, and he refined

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

and fuel oil from the petroleum. Cassaday sold the products in

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 ...

. A number of metal ore

smelters Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a c ...

were built in Cañon City following the discovery of gold at Cripple Creek in 1891.

Historical designations

The Cañon City Downtown Historic District is an historic district that was listed on 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 ...

in 1983.

Geography

Cañon City is located in eastern Fremont County at (38.446800, -105.228305) at an altitude of . It sits primarily on the north side of the

, just east of where the river exits from

Royal Gorge The Royal Gorge is a canyon of the Arkansas River located west of Cañon City, Colorado. The canyon begins at the mouth of Grape Creek, about west of central Cañon City, and continues in a west-northwesterly direction for approximately until ...

. It is bordered to the south by the unincorporated community of Lincoln Park. Via

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

is to the east and Poncha Springs is to the west.

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 ...

is to the northeast. At the

, the city had a total area of including of water.

Climate

Climate Capital of Colorado

The city's nickname, "the Climate Capital of Colorado", derives from the combination of unique geography and elevation protecting the city from harsh weather conditions. The average daily high temperature in January is 14 °F (7.8 °C) warmer in Cañon City than in Grand Junction, even though the elevation of Cañon City is higher. The average minimum temperature in January is . During July, overnight lows are on average. Cañon City has a

semi-arid 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 sem ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

'' ''BSk'''').

Neighborhoods

As Cañon City has grown, the city has both annexed surrounding communities and developed new subdivisions to create the city that exists today. *Dawson Ranch *Eagle Heights *Fireman's Bluff *Four Mile Ranch *Gold Cañon *Meadowbrook *Orchard Park *South Cañon, a historic neighborhood located on the west side south of the

*Sunrise Mesa *Western Meadows *Wolf Park *Five Star Mobile Home park

Parks and recreation

Cañon City is home to many city-owned parks, as well as parks owned by the Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District.

City-owned parks

*Centennial Park, commonly known as "Duck Park" *Denver & Rio Grande Western Park, commonly known as "Depot Park" *Greydene Park *Magdalene Park *Margaret Park (originally Margarette Park) *Mountain View Park, home of the city's skate park *Red Canyon Park, a park located north of the city *Royal Gorge Park, home of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park *Rudd Park *Temple Canyon Park *Veterans Park, known for Entertainment in the Park concerts during the summer

Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District

The Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District, commonly called the Rec District, was created in 1965 to better serve the community's recreational needs with parks, the R.C. Icabone Pool (a public swimming pool), a dog park, an archery range and a ropes course along with a rec district office with a community room. The following parks are operated and owned by the Rec District: *John Griffin Park, located near the Sell's Avenue Trailhead of the Riverwalk *Harrison Park, the former playground of the former Harrison Elementary School which had been relocated to a newer, larger school building housing both elementary and middle school students *Pathfinder Regional Park, a joint-managed park located in the county between Cañon City and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

*Rouse Park In addition, the city maintains the Tunnel Drive Trail, a four-mile long out-and-back trail that follows the course of an old irrigation canal. The trailhead is located at the west end of Tunnel Drive, just inside the city limits. The Guy U. Hardy Award for Service to Outdoor Recreation was created in the name of

Guy U. Hardy Guy Urban Hardy (April 4, 1872 – January 26, 1947) was a U.S. Representative from Colorado for fourteen years. He was a newspaper editor and publisher for 52 years as well as president of the National Editorial Association. Three parks were es ...

to recognize people in the community who "help preserve, protect and advocate for providing outdoor recreation opportunities." Hardy had a significant impact on outdoor recreational opportunities in the

area.

Demographics

As of the 2020

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 in ...

, there were 17,141 people residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . The racial makeup of the city was 95.4%

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 ...

, 1.0%

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% Native American, 0.1%

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 ...

, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 10.2% of the population. There were 7,448 households, out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.05. The age distribution was 22.6% under the age of 18 and 24.6% who were 65 years of age or older. Women represent 52% of the population. The median income for a household in the city was $46,464. 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 city was $25,232. About 17.1% 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 ...

Law

Along with a police department, sheriff's office and detention center, and a municipal court, Cañon City is home to the courts for Fremont County and the 11th Judicial District of Colorado. It has been described as "America’s cheeriest prison town".

Government

Cañon City is governed via the

Council–manager government The council–manager government is a form of local government used for municipalities, counties, or other equivalent regions. It is one of the two most common forms of local government in the United States along with the mayor–council gover ...

system. The city council consists of seven members who are elected from districts. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

is elected by the entire city.

Economy

The area being situated along the Arkansas River has allowed for soil suitable to orchards, ranching, and farming, but has largely grown to rely on the large number of state and federal prisons in the area, as well as to tourism, education, manufacturing, medicine and many other sectors.

Major employers

Cañon City depends on the

Colorado Department of Corrections The Colorado Department of Corrections is the principal department of the Colorado state government that operates the state prisons. It has its headquarters in the Springs Office Park in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, near Colorado Sp ...

and federal prison system, and its tourism industry which includes the

Royal Gorge Route Railroad The Royal Gorge Route Railroad is a heritage railroad based in Cañon City, Colorado. A 1950s-era train makes daily 2-hour excursion runs from the Santa Fe Depot through the Royal Gorge along a famous section of the former Denver and Rio Grande W ...

, Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, Red Canyon Park, The Abbey winery, and various other attractions. The major local employers include downtown shops, the entrepreneurial TechSTART initiative that attracts major technology-based entrepreneurs, and Centura Health (owner of St. Thomas More Hospital and the Progressive Care Center).

Prisons

Prisons have served an important significance to both Cañon City and the surrounding areas of Fremont County, as well as to the state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, 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 wes ...

. The Museum of Colorado Prisons has been given the role of preserving and presenting the past of the state's corrections system.

operates the

Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility (CTCF), colloquially known simply as "Territorial," is a medium security prison in Cañon City, Colorado, Cañon City, Colorado. CTCF is the oldest prison in the Colorado DOC system. It was built in 18 ...

in Cañon City. In addition to several correctional facilities near Cañon City in

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

s in Fremont County,

Colorado State Penitentiary Colorado State Penitentiary (commonly abbreviated CSP) is a Level V maximum security prison in the U.S. state of Colorado. The facility is part of the state's East Cañon Complex, together with six other state correctional facilities of various ...

, the location of the state death row and execution chamberDeath Row FAQ
"
Archive

. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. is in Fremont County. Other state prisons in Fremont County include Arrowhead Correctional Center,

Centennial Correctional Facility Centennial Correctional Facility (CCF) is a prison located in the East Canon complex in Fremont County, Colorado, Fremont County, just east of Canon City, Colorado. CCF consists of two separate buildings, North and South. The South facility, op ...

Fremont Correctional Facility Fremont Correctional Facility (FCF) is a state prison located in the East Canon prison complex in Fremont County, just east of Canon City, Colorado. FCF offers treatment programs for special inmate populations such as sex offenders and drug abu ...

, Four Mile Correctional Center, and Skyline Correctional Center. On October 3, 1929, a riot at the prison claimed 13 lives. The Colorado Women's Correctional Facility near Cañon City in unincorporated Fremont County was decommissioned on June 4, 2009.

Tourism

From Cañon City's Downtown Historic District located in the heart of the city to the Royal Gorge Bridge, there are many places to see and visit in the area.

Media

Cañon City is home to a daily newspaper, called the ''

Cañon City Daily Record ''Cañon City Daily Record'' is a daily newspaper published in Cañon City, Colorado. It carries local, regional, national and world news. It is owned by Prairie Mountain Publishing, a subsidiary of MediaNews Group, who purchased the paper in 2011 ...

''; an FM radio station, Star Country 104.5 FM; and a long-running AM radio station, known as

KRLN KRLN (1400 AM) is a radio station broadcasting in a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Canon City, Colorado, United States, it serves Fremont County, Colorado Fremont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of th ...

NewsRadio

1400 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1400 kHz. 1400 kHz is defined as a Class C (local) frequency in the coterminous United States and such stations on this frequency are limited to 1,000 watts. U.S. stations outside t ...

Transportation

Transportation in the Cañon City area consists of cab service, shuttle bus service, and a downtown wagon ride. The Royal Gorge Bridge trolley had also been used during special events (it was destroyed in the

Royal Gorge Fire The Royal Gorge Bridge is a tourist attraction near Cañon City, Colorado within Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, a 360-acre (150 ha) amusement park located along the edge of the Royal Gorge around both ends of the bridge. The bridge crosses th ...

, but it was reserved for use by the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park. Jeep tours and

Segway The Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter invented by Dean Kamen and brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, subsequently as the Segway PT, and manufactured by Segway Inc. ''HT'' is an initialism for "human transp ...

tours are also available to explore local parks such as Red Canyon Park or scenic places such as

Skyline Drive Skyline Drive is a National Parkway that runs the entire length of the National Park Service's Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, generally along the ridge of the mountains. The drive's northern terminus is a ...

. The town is served by the Fremont County airport (1V6) which is 6 miles to the East and currently has no scheduled passenger service. Within an hour's drive is the Colorado Springs airport with daily service by major airlines.

Major roads and highways

The area is served by one state and one U.S. highway with a mix of city and county roads to navigate the city or connect to neighboring areas.

State and national highways

U.S. Highway 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

- named Royal Gorge Boulevard from 1st Street to 15th Street in downtown Cañon * State Highway 115 - connects the city to nearby Florence and Penrose, ending in

City and county roads

*4th Street - connecting Downtown with South Cañon, Oak Creek Grade, Prospect Heights, and Capitol Hill *5th Street - serves as a north-south connector from Downtown north, allows traffic from Skyline Drive to return to U.S. 50 *9th Street - serves as a carrier of CO 115 from the roundabout to the junction with U.S. 50, heads north and ends at Washington Street *15th Street - main route north to the hospital, a fire station and a small cluster of businesses *Orchard Avenue *Raynolds Avenue/Ash Street - runs from center of East Cañon to CO 115 via a county road, changes to a gravel road and becomes Chandler Road *MacKenzie / Four Mile Lane - routed to connect from CO 115 as a carrier of CR 20 until the city limits, at Hwy 50, heads north as Four Mile Lane

Bus service

*Cañon City is part of Colorado's

Bustang Bustang is an intercity bus service in the U.S. state of Colorado. Service began in 2015 and originally traveled between Denver and Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Glenwood Springs. Service has since been expanded to connect Grand Junction, ...

network. It is on the Alamosa-Pueblo Outrider line.

Scenic routes

, major scenic route overlooking Cañon City that was originally built by local inmates at the Territorial Prison

Railroads

*The

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 ...

mothballed the Tennessee Pass line in 1997. In 1998 Rock and Rail LLC was formed, and began operating on the former Union Pacific track between Cañon City and Parkdale. It also operates between Pueblo and Cañon City on lines purchased from the UP Railway. The tourist line Cañon City and Royal Gorge Railroad also operates on the RRRR's track.

Education

:''See also Cañon City School District'' Cañon City's school system is under the direction of the Cañon City School District Fremont RE-1. The district currently has four elementary schools, one charter school, one school serving as both an elementary school and middle school, one middle school and one high school, Cañon City High School. For the higher education needs of the community,

Pueblo Community College Pueblo Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Pueblo, Colorado. History ''Pueblo Community College'' (PCC) traces its history to the founding of Southern Colorado Junior College (SCJC) in 1933. In 1937 SCJC became part of the ...

provides a branch campus on the west end of the city along

Places of interest

Listed on 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 ...

* Cañon City Downtown Historic District *

Cañon City Municipal Building The Cañon City Municipal Building was built in 1927. It was listed on 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, bui ...

, also known as the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center * Cañon City Post Office and Federal Building * Cañon City State Armory

Other sites

* Holy Cross Abbey (Cañon City, Colorado) * Museum of Colorado Prisons * Peabody Mansion, home of the Cañon City Chamber of Commerce * Royal Gorge Bridge and Park *

Defunct sites

* Buckskin Joe, closed in 2010

Notable people

* Robert Wesley Amick, artist *

Don Bendell Don Bendell (born January 8, 1947) is an American author, rancher, tracker, producer, director, actor, and a former Green Beret. He has published 29 books and assisted in exposing former Atlantic City Mayor Bob Levy's claims of serving as a Gr ...

, writer *

Jack Christiansen John LeRoy Christiansen (December 20, 1928 – June 29, 1986) was an American professional football player who became a college and pro coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions as a safety an ...

, NFL hall-of-famer ( Detroit Lions) *

Donald S. Fredrickson Donald Sharp "Don" Fredrickson (August 8, 1924 – June 7, 2002) was an Americans, American medical researcher, principally of the lipid metabolism, lipid and cholesterol metabolism, and director of National Institutes of Health and subsequently ...

, medical researcher, former director of the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

and first president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; born in Cañon City *

Skip Konte Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aiding ...

, musician, "Wizard of all Northern Realms" * Vice Admiral Emory S. Land (

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

), born in Cañon City * Bird Millman, stage name of Jeannadean Engleman, Circus Aerialist, born in Cañon City *

James Hamilton Peabody James Hamilton Peabody (August 21, 1852 – November 23, 1917) was the 13th and 15th Governor of Colorado, and is noted by some for his public service in Cañon City and by others for his brutality in crushing the miners' strike in Cripple Creek ...

, former

governor

In popular culture

The movie ''Canon City'' (1948) depicts the real-life 1947 escape of 12 prisoners from nearby

. A diner in Cañon City is the setting of the song ''Navajo Rug'', which was named by the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include histori ...

as one of the Top 100 Western Songs of all time. A fictional version of the city is depicted in Philip K. Dick's alternate history novel ''

The Man in the High Castle ''The Man in the High Castle'' (1962), by Philip K. Dick, is an alternative history novel wherein the Axis Powers won World War II. The story occurs in 1962, fifteen years after the end of the war in 1947, and depicts the political intrigues b ...

'' (1963) and its eponymous 2015 television series adaptation. Cañon City is in an ostensibly-

demilitarized A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

"neutral zone" between the puppet regimes of the Japanese Pacific States, in the west, and Greater Nazi Reich, in the east, in the former United States. The season 12 premiere of the television series '' ER'' features the characters Samantha Taggart and Luka Kovac going to Canon City to find her son, who had run away to find his father, who was in prison there. In the Japanese manga series,

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly ''seinen'' manga ...

, a turn-of-the-century race across the United States from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

takes place as the main story of the story's seventh part,

Steel Ball Run is the seventh story arc of the Japanese manga series ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Set in the United States in 1890, it stars Johnny Joestar, a paraplegic former jockey who desires to regain the us ...

. Cañon City (spelled Canon City) is featured as the third stage finish line and checkpoint for the racers.

Sister cities

Cañon City's

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

are: * Chalchicomula de Sesma, Mexico * Kahoku, Japan * Valday, Russia

References

External links

City of Cañon City official websiteCañon City news and information
from the ''

''
CDOT map of the City of Cañon CityCañon City & Royal Gorge Visitor InformationCañon City Chamber of Commerce
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canon City, Colorado Cities in Fremont County, Colorado

Cities in Colorado {{Parent cat , child_level=county , type= , metacategory =Cities in Colorado by county , commonscat=Cities in Colorado , geogroup=y , seealso=Colorado ‎‎ , main=List of cities in Colorado , child_no_parent=21452707 , parent_no_child=21452710 ...

County seats in Colorado Colorado populated places on the Arkansas River 1860 establishments in Kansas Territory