The Town of Dillon is a home rule municipality located in Summit 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 town population was 1,064 at the 2020 United States Census, a +17.70% increase since the 2010 United States Census. Dillon is a part of the Breckenridge, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The original town of Dillon was built as a stage stop and trading post on the northeast side of the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snak ...

. The town was named for Tom Dillon, a prospector, and was incorporated in 1883. By 1892 the town had been relocated twice, both times in order to be closer to railroad lines that were extended into the area. All three of these historic townsites were situated very close to the Blue River Valley confluence where the Snake River and Tenmile Creek flowed in, and this area is now referred to collectively as "Old Dillon". During the Great Depression, Denver Water began acquiring land around Dillon. In 1956, residents and business owners in Dillon were notified that they would need to sell their property and move out, because Denver Water was about to begin construction on a dam just downstream from the town, and the resulting reservoir (which would help supply water to Front Range communities) was going to flood Dillon and the surrounding valley. About a mile to the north, some land on a hillside was set aside for the current townsite, which is now situated on the shoreline of Dillon Reservoir.

Geography

Dillon is located at (39.627659, -106.044199). At the 2020 United States Census, the town had a total area of including of water. Dillon Dam and its reservoir ( Lake Dillon) are adjacent. The

Continental Divide of the Americas The Continental Divide of the Americas (also known as the Great Divide, the Western Divide or simply the Continental Divide; ) is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas. The Continental Divide extends from t ...

is approximately east. Reservoir in the Rocky Mountains

Climate

According to the

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, nota ...

, Dillon has an alpine subarctic climate ''(Dfc)''. Summer days are usually warm, but with nights dropping close to freezing. Winter days are cold, with massive amounts of snowfall.

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 802 people, 369 households, and 195 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,280 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.64%

White White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 0.87%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 1.00% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 1.87% from other races, and 0.50% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 10.35% of the population. There were 369 households, out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.62. In the town, the population was spread out, with 15.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 39.2% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 123.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 125.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,821, and the median income for a family was $59,107. Males had a median income of $36,304 versus $26,042 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 $32,727. About 4.7% of families and 6.3% 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 ...

, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over. lakeside dillon

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Dillon include: * Richard F. Bansemer,

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

pastor * Frederic J. Brown III, U.S. Army lieutenant general *

Millie Hamner Millie Hamner is an American educator and politician who served as a member of the Colorado State House of Representatives and a former superintendent of schools for Summit County, Colorado. Career In December 2010, Rep. Christine Scanlan re ...

, Colorado state legislator *

Enid Markey Enid Markey (February 22, 1894 – November 15, 1981) was an American theatre, film, radio, and television actress, whose career spanned over 50 years, extending from the early 1900s to the late 1960s. In movies, she was the first performer ...

(1894–1981), actress *

Julie McCluskie Julie Lynn McCluskie (born January 12, 1964) is an American politician who is a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 13th district, which includes the counties of Chaffee, Grand, Jackson, Lake, Park and Summit, including the ...

, member of the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...

* Duane D. Pearsall (1922–2010), smoke detector entrepreneur *

Christine Scanlan Christine Scanlan (born c. 1964) is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A Democrat appointed to a vacancy in the Colorado House of Representatives in 2007, Scanlan represented House District 56, encompassing Eagle, Lake and Summit ...

, Colorado state legislator

References

External links

Town of Dillon websiteCDOT map of the Town of DillonLake Dillon Fire Protection District
{{authority control Towns in Summit County, Colorado Towns in Colorado Populated places established in 1883 1883 establishments in Colorado