The Town of Dillon is a home rule municipality located in Summit 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. The town population was 1,064 at the 2020 United States census, a +17.70% increase since the 2010 United States Census.

History

The original town of Dillon was built as a stage stop and trading post on the northeast side of the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

. The town was named for Tom Dillon, a prospector, and was incorporated in 1883. By 1892, the town had been relocated twice, both times in order to be closer to railroad lines that were extended into the area. All three of these historic townsites were situated very close to the Blue River Valley confluence where the Snake River and Tenmile Creek flowed in, and this area is now referred to collectively as "Old Dillon". During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

Denver Water Denver Water is a water utility that operates as a Government agency, public agency serving the City and County of Denver, Colorado, and a portion of its surrounding suburbs. Established in 1918, the utility is funded by water rates and new tap ...

began acquiring land around Dillon. In 1956, residents and business owners in Dillon were notified that they would need to sell their property and move out, because Denver Water was about to begin construction on a dam just downstream from the town, and the resulting reservoir (which would help supply water to Front Range communities) was going to flood Dillon and the surrounding valley. About a mile to the north and approximately higher in

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

, some land on a hillside was set aside for the current townsite, which is now situated on the shoreline of Dillon Reservoir.

Geography

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of including of water. Dillon Dam and its reservoir ( Lake Dillon) are adjacent. The continental divide is approximately east.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Dillon has an alpine

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental 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 ...

''(Dfc)''. Summer days are usually warm, but with nights dropping close to freezing. Winter days are cold, with massive amounts of snowfall. Reservoir in the Rocky Mountains

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 802 people, 369 households, and 195 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,280 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.64%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.87%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.00% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 1.87% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 10.35% of the population. There were 369 households, out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.62. In the town, the population was spread out, with 15.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 39.2% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 123.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 125.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,821, and the median income for a family was $59,107. Males had a median income of $36,304 versus $26,042 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $32,727. About 4.7% of families and 6.3% 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 9.2% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Dillon include: * Richard F. Bansemer,

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

pastor * Frederic J. Brown III, U.S. Army lieutenant general * Millie Hamner, Colorado state legislator * Enid Markey (1894–1981), actress * Julie McCluskie, member of the Colorado House of Representatives * Duane D. Pearsall (1922–2010), smoke detector entrepreneur * Christine Scanlan, Colorado state legislator

References

External links

Town of Dillon websiteLake Dillon Fire Protection District
{{authority control Towns in Summit County, Colorado Towns in Colorado Populated places established in 1883 1883 establishments in Colorado