The City of Commerce 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 ...

located in Adams County,

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 ...

, United States. The city population was 62,418 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 35.95% 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 ...

. Commerce City is the 18th most populous municipality in Colorado. Commerce City is located north of

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 ...

and is a part of the

Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver r ...

and the Front Range Urban Corridor. Commerce City is a mixed residential and industrial community that is known for an

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

with a capacity of , operated by

Suncor Suncor Energy (french: Suncor Énergie) is a Canadian integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It specializes in production of synthetic crude from oil sands. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Suncor Energy was ranked as the 48th-lar ...

Dick's Sporting Goods Park Dick's Sporting Goods Park, also known as DSG Park, is a soccer-specific stadium located in Commerce City, Colorado that is home to the Colorado Rapids men's professional soccer team. The stadium seats up to 18,061 people for soccer matches, bu ...

, a soccer stadium in Commerce City, hosts the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

of Major League Soccer.

History

In 1859 after fighting in

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

, John D. "Colonel Jack" Henderson built a ranch, trading post, and hotel on Henderson Island in 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 ...

Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory Arapahoe County was a county of Kansas Territory in the United States that existed from August 25, 1855, until Kansas's admission into the Union on January 29, 1861. History On August 25, 1855, the Kansas Territorial Legislature created Arapahoe C ...

north of

, from which he sold meat and provisions to gold seekers on their way up the South Platte River Trail to the gold fields during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. Henderson Island was the first permanent settlement in the South Platte River Valley between

Fort Saint Vrain Fort Saint Vrain was an 1837 fur trading post built by the Bent, St. Vrain Company, and located at the confluence of Saint Vrain Creek and the South Platte River, about 20 miles (32 km) east of the Rocky Mountains in the unorganized terri ...

in the

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

and the Cherry Creek Diggings in the Kansas Territory. Henderson Island is today the site of the Adams County Regional Park and Fairgrounds. Among the first establishments in the modern Commerce City were cemeteries. Riverside Cemetery, founded in 1876, is located in the city's southwest corner at East 52nd Avenue and Brighton Boulevard. Rose Hill Cemetery, in the heart of historic Commerce City, was established in 1892 on what at the time was an open plain by the United Hebrew Cemetery Association. The first school in the area began in 1871 as a one-room schoolhouse, with other schools added in 1899 and later in 1907. This latter school is now part of the North Building at the former site of

Adams City High School Adams City High School is a high school located in Commerce City, Colorado, United States. Commerce City was originally known as Adams City. History Adams City High School was first known as Union High School No. 1 when it was created in 1908. ...

, now Adams 14 School District Administration Buildings. Several towns were founded in this part of Adams County in the 19th century. Derby, a Burlington Railroad station in 1887, was laid out as a town in 1889, although it was largely vacated by 1891. Irondale was first settled in 1889, named after a foundry that was opened that year. It was incorporated as the town of Irondale in 1924, but unincorporated in the 1930s due to increasing vacancy. Meanwhile, Adams City was laid out in 1903, with developers hoping the county seat would be established there; however, Brighton was elected county seat in 1904 and Adams City was vacated in 1922. Until the late 1920s, the area was devoted to agriculture, including wheat fields, dairies, and pig farms. Industry moved in, with a refinery established in 1930 and grain elevators built in the late 1930s.

Rocky Mountain Arsenal The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was a United States chemical weapons manufacturing center located in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Commerce City, Colorado. The site was completed December 1942, operated by the United States Army throughout the late ...

was founded in 1942 due east of the growing community. In 1946 and 1947, Adams County School District 14 was formed from surrounding schools, and Adams City was redeveloped about that time. In 1951, as

was considering annexing the area, a plan to incorporate all of southern Adams County was developed. In July 1952, area residents voted 251 to 24 to incorporate Commerce Town, comprising neighborhoods such as Rose Hill and southern Adams City. Commerce Town annexed part of Derby in 1962, increasing the population over fourfold, enough for the town to gain the status of a city. The city name was duly changed to Commerce City. In April 2007, the citizens of Commerce City voted more than 2:1 to retain their city's name. The Mile High Kennel Club, a greyhound racing park founded in 1949, is no longer operational. With the onset of widespread off-track gambling, the physical moving of races around the country to different parks became unnecessary. The City of Commerce City has purchased the land with future development use unknown at this time. A new Adams City High School has been constructed on land at 72nd and Quebec streets. This was formerly part of the

. The new school campus opened in 2009.

Geography

Commerce City is located at (39.840735, -104.901139). At the

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

Climate

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 20,991 people, 6,668 households, and 4,974 families residing in the city. The population density was under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.1 males. The racial makeup of the city was 74.15% White, 3.39% African American, 1.23% Native American, 2.46% Asian, 13.15% from other races, and 5.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race are 46.8% of the population. The median income for a household in the city was $69,268 and the median wage in the city was $54,340. The labor force was 28,684 with 31,086 jobs residing within the city. About 15.3% of families and 19.4% 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 22.5% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Over 1,400 companies call Commerce City home, ranging from international and national headquarters to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Commerce City is home to an oil refinery with a capacity of . Originally, this facility existed as two separately owned refineries, one on each side of Brighton Boulevard.

Suncor Energy Suncor Energy (french: Suncor Énergie) is a Canadian integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It specializes in production of synthetic crude from oil sands. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Suncor Energy was ranked as the 48th-lar ...

bought the west refinery from ConocoPhillips in 2003. A project to upgrade this facility began in August of that year. Suncor purchased the east refinery from Valero in June 2005 with the eventual goal of combining the two operations. As a result of a lawsuit by the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...

(EPA) and a number of states (including Colorado) alleging violations of the Clean Air Act, Valero agreed in June 2005 to make

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

-reducing changes to its refineries, including the Commerce City facility. Suncor's purchase agreement included an assumption of all liability from this suit. The west refinery's upgrade project, named "Project Odyssey," was extended to the east refinery. The west plant was shut down in February 2006 to complete the upgrade, while the east plant continued to refine of oil per day. The completion of the $445 million project was announced in June 2006 and allows Suncor to meet the EPA's mandate to reduce the sulfur content of

diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and ...

. It also gives the refinery the ability to process Suncor's Canadian sour crude oil sands. The combined facility is the largest refinery in the Rocky Mountain region.

Education

Adams County school districts 27J and 14 serve Commerce City.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Commerce City include: * Ronnie Bradford (born 1970), football defensive back * Dominick Moreno (born 1985), Colorado state legislator * Joe Rogers (1964–2013), former Lieutenant Governor of Colorado *

JoAnn Windholz JoAnn Windholz (January 22, 1947 to December 14, 2023) was an American politician from the U.S. state, state of Colorado. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Windholz served one term in the Colorado House of Representatives, represent ...

, Colorado state legislator

In popular culture

-based band DeVotchKa recorded a song called "Commerce City Sister".

References

External links

City of Commerce City websiteCDOT map of the City of Commerce City
{{authority control Cities in Colorado Cities in Adams County, Colorado Denver metropolitan area Populated places established in 1952 1952 establishments in Colorado