Conifer is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Jefferson County,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, United States. Conifer is located along U.S. Route 285 in the foothills west of Denver.

History

A post office called Conifer was established in 1894. Some say the community was named after George Conifer, the proprietor of a local tavern, while others believe conifer trees near the original town site caused the name to be selected. It is possible that ''George Conifer'' was merely a byname, or even that he never existed, as no person with this surname appears in the census.

Geography

Conifer is located at (39.5210995,−105.3052708). A magnitude 3.1 tremor centered on Berrian Mountain about 1 mile north of Conifer occurred on November 1, 1981, at 8:03 p.m. MST.

Climate

Conifer has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * (1929–1990), German literary scholar * (1855–1922), German author * Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991), American aircraf ...

: Dfb) with a yearly temperature average of 38.6 °F (3.7 °C). Summertime is warm with cool nights, while winter is chilly with nights approaching zero.

Landmarks

* The Clifton House Inn, Jefferson County Register of Historic Places * Conifer Junction Schoolhouse, National Register of Historic Places * The Conley Coffee Shop, Jefferson County Register of Historic Places * The Lubin-Blakeslee Place at Meyer Ranch, Conifer, Jefferson County Register of Historic Places * Midway House at Meyers Ranch, built 1889, National Register of Historic Places 5JF.303 * Original Elk Creek Fire House, Jefferson County Register of Historic Places * Pleasant Park School, built 1894, Colorado Register of Historic Places 5JF.972 * Yellow Barn at Bradford Junction, built 1918, Jefferson County Register of Historic Places * Coney Island Hot Dog Stand for many years it was in Aspen Park area of Conifer, but was moved to the nearby community of Bailey. * Staunton State Park - state park located 6 miles west of Conifer

Education

Students living within Jefferson County attend Jefferson County schools. Those neighborhood schools are Elk Creek Elementary School, West Jefferson Elementary School, Marshdale Elementary School, West Jefferson Middle School, and Conifer High School. In 2011, Conifer High School was ranked 434 in the top 500 schools in the nation by Newsweek.

Infrastructure

Conifer residents are served by the Elk Creek Fire Protection District, a mixed career/volunteer fire department with approximately 60 active-duty firefighters.Elk Creek Fire Protection District
/ref> US Route 285 is alongside The Town

Notable people

Brandon Barnes Brandon Barnes (born October 10, 1978) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the punk rock band Rise Against. Biography Barnes received his first drum set when he was nine years old from his grandfather, who was a jazz musi ...

, Drummer for the band

Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rise Against's mu ...

and animal activist *

Amy Bruckner Amy Bruckner (born March 28, 1991) is a former American actress and singer noted for her roles on Disney Channel as Pim Diffy in ''Phil of the Future'' and Haley Long in '' American Dragon: Jake Long''. Bruckner has also been featured in Holly ...

, American actress, attorney, and singer *

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative part ...

, Co-creator of

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

and The Book of Mormon * Blaine Sumner, American powerlifter * Sarah Thomas (marathon swimmer), American marathon swimmer

References

External links

Conifer Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Denver metropolitan area Unincorporated communities in Colorado Unincorporated communities in Jefferson County, Colorado