The Town of Silverthorne 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 h ...

in Summit 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 ...

. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 3,887.

History

The town was named for Judge Marshall Silverthorn who served as the judge of the

miners' court A miners' court was a type of quasi-judicial court common in the American Old West that summoned a subset of the miners in a district when a dispute arose. Background It was made to retain order and decide punishments within mining communities. A ...

in Breckenridge. The judge first came to town as a prospector and claimed a section of the Blue River in 1881. After patenting his claim in April 1882, he was disappointed to find the gold to be sparse and the claim a poor bet. The land passed to his daughters on his death in 1887 and was then sold several times to various mining companies. In 1953 Clayton Hill bought the property and subdivided it for homes and stores. Silverthorne served as a makeshift camp for workers during the construction of the

Dillon Reservoir Dillon Reservoir, sometimes referred to as Lake Dillon, is a large fresh water reservoir located in Summit County, Colorado, United States, south of I-70 and bordered by the towns of Frisco, Silverthorne, and Dillon. It is a reservoir for the ...

from 1961–1963, and later as a stop along

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 ...

. It was eventually incorporated on April 5, 1967. The city has expanded several times since incorporation by annexation. Since 2016, the town of Silverthorne has hosted the Silverthon Games, an annual competition featuring a seasonally-based slate of individual and team events, culminating with the heavily-spectated Hummingbird Circle race.

Geography

Silverthorne is located at , at 8,730 feet above sea level (2661 meters). The town is situated between the

Gore Range The Gore Range (elevation approximately 12,000 ft) is a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of north central Colorado in the United States. Geography The range runs for approximately 60 miles (100 km) northwest-to-southeast, through ...

to the west and the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

to the east. The two most visible mountains are Buffalo and Red Mountains. Also surrounding the valley are Ptarmigan, Tenderfoot, and Ten Mile Peaks. 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, of it is land and of it (0.94%) is water.

Climate

Silverthorne has a highland-influenced

subpolar climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

(''Dfc'') with warm summer days, cold nights year round, as well as cold and snowy winter days.

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 3,196 people, 1,103 households, and 736 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,582 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 82.17%

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 ...

, 1.00%

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 ...

, 0.66% Native American, 0.75%

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 ...

, 0.28%

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 ...

, 11.17% 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 3.97% 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 23.50% of the population. There were 1,103 households, out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% 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, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 13.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.14. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 42.3% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 2.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 130.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 140.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $58,839, and the median income for a family was $61,715. Males had a median income of $31,983 versus $27,172 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 $24,271. About 2.9% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the

poverty threshold 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 6.1% of those under age 18, but none were age 65 or over.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Silverthorne include: *

Dan Gibbs Dan Gibbs (born c. 1976) is a politician in the U.S. state of Colorado. He currently serves as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Gibbs worked as an outdoor guide and as a staffer for U.S. Representative Mark ...

(1976- ), Colorado state legislator * Mike Potekhen (1979- ), race car driver *

Red Gerard Redmond "Red" Gerard (born June 29, 2000) is an American Snowboarding, snowboarder and a spokesperson of the Toyota Motor Corporation. Gerard was born and raised in Ohio, but lives in Silverthorne, Colorado, where he has his own miniature snowbo ...

(2000- ), Olympic gold medalist snowboarder.

References

External links

Town of Silverthorne website

CDOT map of the Town of Silverthorne
{{Authority control Towns in Summit County, Colorado Towns in Colorado