Cañon City is a home rule municipality 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

Fremont County, Colorado Fremont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,939. The county seat is Cañon City. The county is named for 19th-century explorer and presidential candidate John C. Frémont. Fre ...

, United States. The city population was 17,141 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 ...

. Cañon City is the principal city of the

Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to ...

and is a part of the Front Range Urban Corridor. Cañon City straddles the easterly flowing

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United ...

and is a popular tourist destination for sightseeing, whitewater rafting, and rock climbing. The city is known for its many public parks, fossil discoveries, Skyline Drive, The Royal Gorge railroad, the Royal Gorge, and extensive natural hiking paths. In 1994, the United States Board on Geographic Names approved adding the tilde to the official name of Cañon City, a change from Canon City as the official name in its decisions of 1906 and 1975. It is one of the few U.S. cities to have the Spanish Ñ in its name, others being La Cañada Flintridge, California; Española, New Mexico;

Peñasco, New Mexico Peñasco is a census-designated place (CDP) in Taos County, New Mexico. It is located along the scenic High Road to Taos. The population is estimated at 1,200 (2015). Geography Peñasco is located at (36.172073, -105.689491). According to the ...

; and Peñitas, Texas.

History

Cañon City was laid out on January 17, 1858, during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, but then the land was left idle. A new company "jumped the claim" to the town's site in late 1859, and it put up the first building in February 1860. This town was originally intended as a commercial center for

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

in South Park and the upper Arkansas River.

1860s to 1900

In 1861, the town raised two companies of volunteers to serve with the Second Colorado Infantry during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. This regiment fought in skirmishes in nearby

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

and as far east as the Indian Territory ( Oklahoma) and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

before ending its organization in 1865. In 1862, A. M. Cassaday drilled for

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

north of Cañon City, close to a known oil seep. Cassaday struck oil at the depth of , and he completed the first commercial oil well west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

. He drilled five or six more wells nearby, and he refined

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning " wax", and was re ...

and fuel oil from the petroleum. Cassaday sold the products in

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 ...

. A number of metal ore smelters were built in Cañon City following the discovery of gold at Cripple Creek in 1891.

Historical designations

The Cañon City Downtown Historic District is an historic district that was listed on the

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 ...

in 1983.

Geography

Cañon City is located in eastern Fremont County at (38.446800, -105.228305) at an altitude of . It sits primarily on the north side of the

, just east of where the river exits from

Royal Gorge The Royal Gorge is a canyon of the Arkansas River located west of Cañon City, Colorado. The canyon begins at the mouth of Grape Creek, about west of central Cañon City, and continues in a west-northwesterly direction for approximately un ...

. It is bordered to the south by the unincorporated community of Lincoln Park. Via U.S. Route 50, Pueblo is to the east and Poncha Springs is to the west. Colorado Springs is to the northeast. At the

, the city had a total area of including of water.

Climate

Climate Capital of Colorado

The city's nickname, "the Climate Capital of Colorado", derives from the combination of unique geography and elevation protecting the city from harsh weather conditions. The average daily high temperature in January is 14 °F (7.8 °C) warmer in Cañon City than in Grand Junction, even though the elevation of Cañon City is higher. The average minimum temperature in January is . During July, overnight lows are on average. Cañon City has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...

(

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 ...

'' ''BSk'''').

Neighborhoods

As Cañon City has grown, the city has both annexed surrounding communities and developed new subdivisions to create the city that exists today. *Dawson Ranch *Eagle Heights *Fireman's Bluff *Four Mile Ranch *Gold Cañon *Meadowbrook *Orchard Park *South Cañon, a historic neighborhood located on the west side south of the

*Sunrise Mesa *Western Meadows *Wolf Park *Five Star Mobile Home park

Parks and recreation

Cañon City is home to many city-owned parks, as well as parks owned by the Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District.

City-owned parks

*Centennial Park, commonly known as "Duck Park" *Denver & Rio Grande Western Park, commonly known as "Depot Park" *Greydene Park *Magdalene Park *Margaret Park (originally Margarette Park) *Mountain View Park, home of the city's skate park *Red Canyon Park, a park located north of the city *Royal Gorge Park, home of the

Royal Gorge Bridge The Royal Gorge Bridge is a tourist attraction near Cañon City, Colorado within Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, a 360-acre (150 ha) amusement park located along the edge of the Royal Gorge around both ends of the bridge. The bridge crosses t ...

and Park *Rudd Park *Temple Canyon Park *Veterans Park, known for Entertainment in the Park concerts during the summer

Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District

The Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District, commonly called the Rec District, was created in 1965 to better serve the community's recreational needs with parks, the R.C. Icabone Pool (a public swimming pool), a dog park, an archery range and a ropes course along with a rec district office with a community room. The following parks are operated and owned by the Rec District: *John Griffin Park, located near the Sell's Avenue Trailhead of the Riverwalk *Harrison Park, the former playground of the former Harrison Elementary School which had been relocated to a newer, larger school building housing both elementary and middle school students *Pathfinder Regional Park, a joint-managed park located in the county between Cañon City and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

*Rouse Park In addition, the city maintains the Tunnel Drive Trail, a four-mile long out-and-back trail that follows the course of an old irrigation canal. The trailhead is located at the west end of Tunnel Drive, just inside the city limits. The Guy U. Hardy Award for Service to Outdoor Recreation was created in the name of Guy U. Hardy to recognize people in the community who "help preserve, protect and advocate for providing outdoor recreation opportunities." Hardy had a significant impact on outdoor recreational opportunities in the

area.

Demographics

As of the 2020

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 inc ...

, there were 17,141 people residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . The racial makeup of the city was 95.4%

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 ...

, 1.0%

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 ...

, 0.6% Native American, 0.1% Asian, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 10.2% of the population. There were 7,448 households, out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.05. The age distribution was 22.6% under the age of 18 and 24.6% who were 65 years of age or older. Women represent 52% of the population. The median income for a household in the city was $46,464. 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 city was $25,232. About 17.1% 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 ...

Law

Along with a police department, sheriff's office and detention center, and a municipal court, Cañon City is home to the courts for Fremont County and the 11th Judicial District of Colorado. It has been described as "America’s cheeriest prison town".

Government

Cañon City is governed via the Council–manager government system. The city council consists of seven members who are elected from districts. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

is elected by the entire city.

Economy

The area being situated along the Arkansas River has allowed for soil suitable to orchards, ranching, and farming, but has largely grown to rely on the large number of state and federal prisons in the area, as well as to tourism, education, manufacturing, medicine and many other sectors.

Major employers

Cañon City depends on the

Colorado Department of Corrections The Colorado Department of Corrections is the principal department of the Colorado state government that operates the state prisons. It has its headquarters in the Springs Office Park in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, near Colorado Sp ...

and federal prison system, and its tourism industry which includes the Royal Gorge Route Railroad,

and Park, Red Canyon Park, The Abbey winery, and various other attractions. The major local employers include downtown shops, the entrepreneurial TechSTART initiative that attracts major technology-based entrepreneurs, and Centura Health (owner of St. Thomas More Hospital and the Progressive Care Center).

Prisons

Prisons have served an important significance to both Cañon City and the surrounding areas of Fremont County, as well as to the state of

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 ...

. The Museum of Colorado Prisons has been given the role of preserving and presenting the past of the state's corrections system.

operates the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility in Cañon City. In addition to several correctional facilities near Cañon City in

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

s in Fremont County,

Colorado State Penitentiary Colorado State Penitentiary (commonly abbreviated CSP) is a Level V maximum security prison in the U.S. state of Colorado. The facility is part of the state's East Cañon Complex, together with six other state correctional facilities of various s ...

, the location of the state death row and execution chamberDeath Row FAQ
"
Archive

. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. is in Fremont County. Other state prisons in Fremont County include Arrowhead Correctional Center, Centennial Correctional Facility, Fremont Correctional Facility, Four Mile Correctional Center, and Skyline Correctional Center. On October 3, 1929, a riot at the prison claimed 13 lives. The Colorado Women's Correctional Facility near Cañon City in unincorporated Fremont County was decommissioned on June 4, 2009.

Tourism

From Cañon City's Downtown Historic District located in the heart of the city to the

, there are many places to see and visit in the area.

Media

Cañon City is home to a daily newspaper, called the '' Cañon City Daily Record''; an FM radio station, Star Country 104.5 FM; and a long-running AM radio station, known as KRLN NewsRadio 1400 AM.

Transportation

Transportation in the Cañon City area consists of cab service, shuttle bus service, and a downtown wagon ride. The

trolley had also been used during special events (it was destroyed in the Royal Gorge Fire, but it was reserved for use by the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park. Jeep tours and Segway tours are also available to explore local parks such as Red Canyon Park or scenic places such as Skyline Drive. The town is served by the Fremont County airport (1V6) which is 6 miles to the East and currently has no scheduled passenger service. Within an hour's drive is the Colorado Springs airport with daily service by major airlines.

Major roads and highways

The area is served by one state and one U.S. highway with a mix of city and county roads to navigate the city or connect to neighboring areas.

State and national highways

* U.S. Highway 50 - named Royal Gorge Boulevard from 1st Street to 15th Street in downtown Cañon * State Highway 115 - connects the city to nearby Florence and Penrose, ending in Colorado Springs

City and county roads

*4th Street - connecting Downtown with South Cañon, Oak Creek Grade, Prospect Heights, and Capitol Hill *5th Street - serves as a north-south connector from Downtown north, allows traffic from Skyline Drive to return to U.S. 50 *9th Street - serves as a carrier of CO 115 from the roundabout to the junction with U.S. 50, heads north and ends at Washington Street *15th Street - main route north to the hospital, a fire station and a small cluster of businesses *Orchard Avenue *Raynolds Avenue/Ash Street - runs from center of East Cañon to CO 115 via a county road, changes to a gravel road and becomes Chandler Road *MacKenzie / Four Mile Lane - routed to connect from CO 115 as a carrier of CR 20 until the city limits, at Hwy 50, heads north as Four Mile Lane

Bus service

*Cañon City 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 Alamosa-Pueblo Outrider line.

Scenic routes

* Skyline Drive, major scenic route overlooking Cañon City that was originally built by local inmates at the Territorial Prison

Railroads

*The

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

mothballed the Tennessee Pass line in 1997. In 1998

Rock and Rail LLC Rock and Rail is a short line railroad operating in southern Colorado that is currently a subsidiary of Martin Marietta Materials Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. is an American company and a member of the S&P 500 Index. The company is a sup ...

was formed, and began operating on the former Union Pacific track between Cañon City and Parkdale. It also operates between Pueblo and Cañon City on lines purchased from the UP Railway. The tourist line Cañon City and Royal Gorge Railroad also operates on the RRRR's track.

Education

:''See also Cañon City School District'' Cañon City's school system is under the direction of the Cañon City School District Fremont RE-1. The district currently has four elementary schools, one charter school, one school serving as both an elementary school and middle school, one middle school and one high school, Cañon City High School. For the higher education needs of the community,

Pueblo Community College Pueblo Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Pueblo, Colorado. History ''Pueblo Community College'' (PCC) traces its history to the founding of Southern Colorado Junior College (SCJC) in 1933. In 1937 SCJC became part of the ...

provides a branch campus on the west end of the city along U.S. Highway 50.

Places of interest

Listed on the
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 ...

* Cañon City Downtown Historic District *

Cañon City Municipal Building The Cañon City Municipal Building was built in 1927. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is a two-story brick Moderne-style building with an H-shaped plan, designed by architect Eugene Groves. With It is the ...

, also known as the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center * Cañon City Post Office and Federal Building * Cañon City State Armory

Other sites

* Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility * Holy Cross Abbey (Cañon City, Colorado) * Museum of Colorado Prisons * Peabody Mansion, home of the Cañon City Chamber of Commerce *

and Park * Royal Gorge Route Railroad

Defunct sites

Buckskin Joe Buckskin Joe was a Western-style theme park and railway in Buckskin Joe, Colorado, United States, about west of Cañon City. Description The park was located south of U.S. Route 50 along the road to the Royal Gorge Bridge. Features of t ...

, closed in 2010

Notable people

* Robert Wesley Amick, artist *

Don Bendell Don Bendell (born January 8, 1947) is an American author, rancher, tracker, producer, director, actor, and a former Green Beret. He has published 29 books and assisted in exposing former Atlantic City Mayor Bob Levy's claims of serving as a Gr ...

, writer *

Jack Christiansen John LeRoy Christiansen (December 20, 1928 – June 29, 1986) was an American professional football player who became a college and pro coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions as a safety a ...

, NFL hall-of-famer (

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

) * Donald S. Fredrickson, medical researcher, former director of the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the lat ...

and first president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; born in Cañon City * Skip Konte, musician, "Wizard of all Northern Realms" * Vice Admiral

Emory S. Land Emory Scott Land (January 8, 1879 – November 27, 1971) was an officer in the United States Navy, noted for his contributions to naval architecture, particularly in submarine design. Notable assignments included serving as Chief of the Navy's Bu ...

( U.S. Navy), born in Cañon City *

Bird Millman Bird Millman O’Day (born Jennadean Engleman; October 20, 1890 – August 5, 1940“Bird Millman O'Day... Succumbs Here Monday Night after Long Illness”, '' Cañon City Daily Record'', August 6, 1940) was one of the most celebrated high-wire p ...

, stage name of Jeannadean Engleman, Circus Aerialist, born in Cañon City * James Hamilton Peabody, former

governor

In popular culture

The movie ''Canon City'' (1948) depicts the real-life 1947 escape of 12 prisoners from nearby

. A diner in Cañon City is the setting of the song ''Navajo Rug'', which was named by the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include historian ...

as one of the Top 100 Western Songs of all time. A fictional version of the city is depicted in Philip K. Dick's alternate history novel '' The Man in the High Castle'' (1963) and its eponymous 2015 television series adaptation. Cañon City is in an ostensibly-

demilitarized A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

"neutral zone" between the puppet regimes of the Japanese Pacific States, in the west, and Greater Nazi Reich, in the east, in the former United States. The season 12 premiere of the television series '' ER'' features the characters Samantha Taggart and Luka Kovac going to Canon City to find her son, who had run away to find his father, who was in prison there. In the Japanese

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

series, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, a turn-of-the-century race across the United States from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

takes place as the main story of the story's seventh part, Steel Ball Run. Cañon City (spelled Canon City) is featured as the third stage finish line and checkpoint for the racers.

Sister cities

Cañon City's sister cities are: * Chalchicomula de Sesma, Mexico * Kahoku, Japan * Valday, Russia

References

External links

City of Cañon City official websiteCañon City news and information
from the '' Cañon City Daily Record''
CDOT map of the City of Cañon CityCañon City & Royal Gorge Visitor InformationCañon City Chamber of Commerce
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canon City, Colorado Cities in Fremont County, Colorado Cities in Colorado County seats in Colorado Colorado populated places on the Arkansas River 1860 establishments in Kansas Territory