The Town of Dolores is a

Statutory Town A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...

located in

Montezuma County Montezuma County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,849. The county seat is Cortez. Mesa Verde National Park, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Yucca House National Monu ...

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

, United States. The town population was 885 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 ...

Description

Dolores (Spanish for "sorrows" and named for the river on which it is located) is located at the mouth of the Dolores Valley and the upper reaches of McPhee Reservoir, approximately from the

Four Corners Monument The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to the area being na ...

. Established as a station on the

Rio Grande Southern Railroad The Rio Grande Southern Railroad (reporting mark RGS, also referred to as "The Southern") was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge railroad which ran in the southwestern region of the US state of Colorado, from the towns of Durango to Ridgway, ...

, it replaced the earlier town, Big Bend, now covered by McPhee Reservoir. McPhee Reservoir is named for a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

founded by New Mexico Lumber Company, that is now covered by the reservoir.

History

The following are Dolores area historic sites of the

Ancient Pueblo People The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, an ...

: * The

Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum The Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum (formerly the Anasazi Heritage Center) located in Dolores, Colorado, is an archaeological museum of Native American pueblo and hunter-gatherer cultures. Two 12th-century archaeological sit ...

, and the on-site Domniguez and Escalante Pueblos are listed on the

Colorado State Register of Historic Properties The Colorado State Register of Historic Properties, administered by the History Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, is a listing of significant historic resources. History Colorado maintains a list of the Colorado State Regis ...

and the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Montezuma County, Colorado __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Montezuma County, Colorado. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Montezuma County, ...

.Colorado State Register of Historic Properties - Montezuma County.
Colorado Historical Society Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 10-8-2011.
American Dreams, Inc. Retrieved 2011-10-7. *

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is a national monument protecting an archaeologically-significant landscape located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Colorado. The monument's are managed by the Bureau of Land Management, ...

* O'Brien Site, an Ancient Pueblo settlement of 11 pueblos occupied between AD 1075 - 1150. Other historic sites added to the

and

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 v ...

include: * Lebanon School, also known as the Lebanon Schoolhouse * Southern Hotel, also known as Benny's Hogan and the Rio Grande Southern Hotel

Geography

Dolores is located at (37.474540, -108.498294). At the

, the town had a total area of , all of it land. The town is confined to a narrow valley bottom along the

Dolores River The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah. The river drains a rugged and arid region of the Colorado Plateau west of the San Juan Mountains. Its name derives from the S ...

near the point where the river turns from flowing southward out of the

San Juan Mountains The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...

to the north. Built-up areas outside the town limits include extensive residential, commercial, and minor-industrial areas upstream in the valley floor, on Summit Ridge to the south-southwest, and on high ground to the west, at the intersections of Colorado Highways 145 and 184.

Demographics

As of the

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

of 2010, there were 936 people, 431 households, and 236 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 501 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 90.38%

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 on ...

, 2.14% Native American, 0.11%

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

, 0.21%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 3.42% from

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

, and 3.74% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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

of any race were 10.90% of the population. There were 431 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.2% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.92. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,417, and the median income for a family was $32,188. Males had a median income of $27,404 versus $19,286 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 $14,912. About 16.6% of families and 17.3% 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 t ...

, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Dolores 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 Durango-Grand Junction Outrider line.

References

External links

*
CDOT map of the Town of Dolores
{{authority control Towns in Montezuma County, Colorado Towns in Colorado