Dove Creek 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 ...

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 ...

and the most populous municipality of

Dolores County Dolores County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,326. The county seat is Dove Creek. History It is thought that the area has been the site of human habitation since at least 2500 B ...

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 the ...

, United States. The town population was 635 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 off ...

. The community takes its name from the nearby Dove Creek. Dove Creek is the self-proclaimed

Pinto Bean The pinto bean () is a variety of common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''). In Spanish they are called , literally "painted bean" (compare pinto horse). It is the most popular bean by crop production in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United Sta ...

Capital of the World.

History

The Old Spanish Trail trade route passed through the area of Dove Creek from 1829 into the 1850s. A post office at Dove Creek has been in operation since 1915. There are several area prehistoric and historic sites 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 ...

: *

Brewer Archaeological District This is a list of Ancestral Puebloan dwellings in Colorado, United States. Pueblo periods Archaeologists have agreed on three main periods of occupation by Pueblo peoples in southwestern Colorado: Pueblo I, Pueblo II, and Pueblo III. * P ...

of two large prehistoric settlement sites: Brewer Mesa Pueblo (11th century) and Brewer Canyon Pueblo (13th century) * Glade Ranger Station, dated before 1910 * P.R. Butt & Sons Building, built in 1914, generally considered the town's second building

Geography

Dove Creek is located in western Dolores County at (37.765994, -108.905691). At the

, the town had a total area of , all of it land. The town is located on

US 491 U.S. Route 491 (US 491) is a north–south U.S. Highway serving the Four Corners region of the United States. It was created in 2003 as a renumbering of U.S. Route 666 (US 666). With the US 666 designation, the road was nicknamed t ...

(formerly US 666) at the crossing of Dove Creek, the town's namesake. Dove Creek flows south to Cross Canyon,

Montezuma Creek, Utah Montezuma Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Juan County, Utah, United States. The population was 335 at the 2010 census, a decrease from the 2000 figure of 507. Education Montezuma Creek also is the center of education of abou ...

, and the San Juan River. The town is located on the northern portion of the Great Sage Plain, a large plateau covered in desert lands, bounded by the

La Plata Mountains The La Plata Mountains are a small subrange of the San Juan Mountains in the southwestern part of Colorado, United States. They are located on the border between Montezuma and La Plata counties, about northwest of Durango. Their name is Spanish ...

Mesa Verde National Park Mesa Verde National Park is an American national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States. Established ...

, the

La Sal Mountains The La Sal Mountains or La Sal Range are a mountain range located in Grand and San Juan counties in the U.S. state of Utah, along the border with Colorado. The range rises above and southeast of Moab and north of the town of La Sal. This range ...

, and the

Abajo Mountains The Abajo Mountains, sometimes referred to as the Blue Mountains, is a small mountain range west of Monticello, Utah, south of Canyonlands National Park and north of Blanding, Utah. The mountain range is located within the Manti–La Sal National ...

, and cut by dozens of deep canyons, which was and is a productive agricultural region. The plateau is dotted with numerous ruins of the

Anasazi 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, ...

and other ancient people who took advantage of good soils and terrain, even with limited water resources. The Dolores County Courthouse, built in 1957, replaces a temporary courthouse in the town used after voters of the county moved the county seat from

Rico The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

to Dove Creek in 1947, reflecting a shift in the original mining-oriented make-up of the county's population to the current situation in which farmers and a few ranchers outnumber the mountain-dwellers in the old mining districts of the eastern end of Dolores County. The courthouse is adjacent to Dolores County High School, and is part of the old business district located north of US 491; most business is now located on US 491 as it angles through the town from east-southeast to west-northwest. A regional landmark is the large concrete bean elevator located on the west edge of town, near the Dolores County Industrial Park. SH 141 intersects US 491 just west of town, and provides access to the

Paradox Valley Paradox Valley is a basin located in Montrose County in the U.S. state of Colorado. The dry, sparsely populated valley is named after the apparently paradoxical course of the Dolores River—instead of flowing down the length of the valley, t ...

, Nucla-Naturita, and the uranium mining and industrial area of

Montrose County, Colorado Montrose County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,679. The county seat is Montrose, for which the county is named. Montrose County comprises the Montrose, CO Micropolitan Statisti ...

, and

Grand County, Utah Grand County is a county on the east central edge of the U.S. state of Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 9,225. Its county seat and largest city is Moab. History Evidence of indigenous occupation ...

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 698 people, 285 households, and 202 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 326 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.28%

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 ...

, 1.86% Native American, 0.29% 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 1.58% 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 3.87% of the population. There were 285 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% 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 ...

living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.93. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,500, and the median income for a family was $32,813. Males had a median income of $28,333 versus $17,500 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 $13,015. About 8.9% of families and 12.3% 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 9.9% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The Dolores County Industrial Park is located west of Dove Creek and is the site of a plant which began construction in 2007, which produces food-grade vegetable oil from

sunflowers ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to N ...

safflower Safflower (''Carthamus tinctorius'') is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds and was used by the early Spanish colonies along ...

, and

canola Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, ...

grown in the Dove Creek area, and will ultimately produce

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat ( tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oi ...

. The industrial park is home to the community's first ready-mix plant in many decades, and other businesses. New housing developments have been permitted and platted in the Dove Creek area, anticipating growth due to efforts like this. On the eastern edge of the town is the headquarters and facility of Adobe Milling, a company marketing various locally-grown beans and other traditional

Southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

foods.

Major employers in the town include the county government and school district, and various other government agencies. Most businesses in town support agricultural operations; some provide transportation services for highway users.

Community News

The Dove Creek Press is an 824-circulation weekly newspaper, locally owned and operated by Kathleen "Kat" Keesling since January 2017. The Press office is located at 321 Main St, Dove Creek, CO 81324. The Press' website is https://www.dovecreekpress.com/ According to Keesling, the Dove Creek Press was first published May 10, 1940, on eight broadsheet pages. The owners were Dan Hunter and R.T. Williams. The cost of a subscription was $2 per year. The Ladies Civic Club held a subscription drive, receiving 25¢ per subscription in return. The newspaper was printed in house. It was a broadsheet typical of that era, 21 inches tall by 14 ½ inches wide. The newspapers were frequently a sideline for printers. The sheets to print newspapers were pre-printed on one side, blank on the other. The pre-printed side was national news, politics, Washington news, frequently a weekly fictional story, question and answer sections, recipes, sewing patterns, and even national classified ads. The newspaper publisher would print the local news on the blank side, fold it, and prepare it for mailing. The inside pre-printed section included: fighting in Germany, Swedish practicing defense maneuvers, White House report, first three chapters of a fiction story called “Marked Man” by HC Wire, Navy report, solicit for Air Hostesses, help for chronic pain, cigarette ads, a “Dear Mrs. Norris” help column for wives, sewing pattern Local ads were: Ford Tractor for $585, Dove Creek Garage (vehicle repair), Village Blacksmith, JC Denton General Merchandise (Pleasant View), Abbotts Auto Repair (Cortez), Quality Cleaners (dry cleaning and tailoring, Cortez), Dove Creek Merc, Barrett Auctioneer (Cortez), Dale’s Blacksmith, Mexirado Distributing (wholesale petroleum products, Cortez), Owl Café and Bar (Cortez), JJ Harris and Company Bankers (Dolores), Charlie’s Fresh Meat and Groceries (and apartments, Cortez), Romer Merc and Grain, The Cortez Sentinel, AW Denny (Farmall tractors, Cortez), Frosty’s Quality Groceries, Clearing for Sage brush and tree stumps, FA Sitton (Dove Creek brand pinto beans), Dove Creek Texaco Service Station, Dove Creek Café, Dove Creek’s Pioneer Merchant, Keunzler Korner (gasoline), Fred’s Repair Shop (garage work), typewriter repair (Cortez), CH Webb Insurance (Dolores), Dove Creek Lumber and Hardware, Walt’s Welding, Ralph the Desert Rat (water hauling 25¢ a barrel), Dove Creek Barber, John J. Downey Attorney at Law (Cortez), Agnes’ Beauty Shop, Stanley Wilson Cedar Posts, and Dean’s Service Station.

References

External links

Town of Dove Creek websiteCDOT map of the Town of Dove CreekDove Creek Press - Newspaper and Publisher for Dolores County
{{Authority control Towns in Dolores County, Colorado Towns in Colorado County seats in Colorado Old Spanish Trail (trade route)