The Town of New Castle 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 ...

in Garfield County,

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 population was 4,518 at the 2010 census, up from 1,984 at the 2000 census.

History

When New Castle was incorporated in 1888, its economy was largely based on mining coal that was needed by the silver-mining industry to fire silver

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 ...

. On February 18, 1896, a methane explosion in the Vulcan Mine killed 49 men and started a coal fire that was still burning as of 2020. The Vulcan reopened and suffered additional explosions on December 12, 1913 (killing 37) and November 4, 1918 (killing 3). There are at least 25 coal fires burning near the town. They are normally confined underground, but in 2002 the Coal Seam Fire destroyed thirty houses in New Castle. From 2000 - 2014 the population grew 129%, much higher than the average growth in Colorado over the same period (20.8%).http://www.usa.com/new-castle-co.htm

Geography

New Castle is located at (39.572304, -107.534941), on the north side of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

, just east of where the river cuts through the

Grand Hogback The Grand Hogback is a 70-mile long, curving, spine-like ridge in Western Colorado that extends from near McClure Pass in Pitkin County, Colorado, Pitkin County through Garfield County, Colorado, Garfield County and then to near Meeker, Colorado, ...

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

passes through the town following the river, with access from Exit 105. I-70 leads east to Glenwood Springs, 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 ...

, east to

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 west to Grand Junction.

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

is Main Street in New Castle and forms a parallel route to I-70 for local traffic. US-6 joins I-70 to the east at

Chacra Chacra is an Andean term (a loanword from the Quechua word ''chakra'', meaning "farm, agricultural field, or land sown with seed";Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary)

and to the west at a point west of

Rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.21%, is water.

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 2000, there were 1,984 people, 705 households, and 537 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 731 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.61%

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 ...

, 0.30%

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 ...

, 0.55% Native American, 0.35%

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 ...

, 3.28% 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 0.91% 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 11.90% of the population. There were 705 households, out of which 48.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.7% 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, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.18. In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.9% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 38.9% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 3.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $55,000, and the median income for a family was $58,889. Males had a median income of $39,597 versus $27,933 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 $21,356. About 2.9% of families and 4.4% 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 5.1% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is within

Garfield Re-2 School District Garfield School District Re-2 is a school district headquartered in Rifle, Colorado. It includes municipalities and areas in the western portion of Garfield County. In addition to Rifle it includes New Castle and Silt. it had almost 800 employ ...

Coal Ridge High School Coal Ridge High School is a public secondary school in New Castle, Garfield County, Colorado, United States. It serves New Castle, Silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz ...

is in New Castle.

References

External links

Town of New Castle official website

CDOT map of the Town of New Castle
{{authority control Towns in Garfield County, Colorado Towns in Colorado Populated places established in 1890 1890 establishments in Colorado