Holly, Colorado
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Holly is a statutory town in Prowers County in southeastern
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 is located west of the
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
border at an elevation of . Despite having the lowest elevation of any Colorado municipality, Holly is higher than the high points of 19 states and the District of Columbia. The town population was 837 at the 2020 United States census.


History


Early history

Holly was settled as a ranching community, and the town was incorporated in 1903. The town was named for Hiram S. Holly, a local cattleman. Hiram S. Holly moved to the town in 1871, and brought 1,300 cattle with him. Holly's ranch, the SS Ranch or Double S Ranch, was the first settlement in the area. The Holly SS Ranch Barn, a stone barn built in 1879, survives and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. The original stone ranch house also survives, nearby, but is not listed. ()


Holly Sugar

Holly Sugar was created in the town in 1905 just in time for the sugarbeet harvest that year. The production was so successful the company quickly looked to expand to other communities. By 1911, Holly Sugar had expanded outside the State of Colorado. The company has long since left the Holly community. In 1988, Holly Sugar merged with Imperial Sugar.


2007 Holly tornado


2011 Jensen Farms listeriosis outbreak


Geography

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of including of water.


Climate

The Köppen Climate system classifies the weather as
semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...
, abbreviated as ''BSk''.


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 1,048 people, 369 households, and 250 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 449 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 75.10%
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 ...
, 0.38% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 23.66% from other races, and 0.76% 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 35.97% of the population. There were 369 households, out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% 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, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.36. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,917, and the median income for a family was $31,979. Males had a median income of $23,000 versus $21,250 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 $14,246. About 21.7% of families and 27.9% 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 37.5% of those under age 18 and 20.7% of those age 65 or over.


Notable residents

Holly is the hometown of
Roy Romer Roy Rudolf Romer (born October 31, 1928) is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Colorado from 1987 to 1999, and subsequently as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2000 to 2006. Romer was a ...
who moved there as an infant from his birthplace of
Garden City, Kansas Garden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 28,151. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richa ...
. Romer served as the 39th
Governor of Colorado The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of Government of Colorado, Colorado's state government and is cha ...
from 1987 to 1999, and subsequently as the superintendent of the
Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...
from 2000 to 2006. Private Elmer M. Gideon, USA, was born and raised near Holly. He was in the 29th Div, 116th Infantry, Company I. Private Gideon landed on Omaha Beach on June 12, 1944, and died under sniper around August 6, near St Lo. France.


Gallery

Holly, CO, welcome sign IMG 5795.JPG, Holly welcome sign. Holly, CO, spruce tree IMG 5797.JPG, A
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
tree, not a
holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
tree, in Holly, Colorado. First Christian Church, Holly, CO IMG 5800.JPG, First Christian Church in Holly. First United Methodist Church in Holly, CO IMG 5802.JPG, First United Methodist Church in Holly is located across the highway from First Christian Church.


See also

* National Old Trails Road * Santa Fe National Historic Trail


References


External links


Town of Holly website

CDOT map of the Town of Holly
{{authority control Towns in Prowers County, Colorado Towns in Colorado Colorado populated places on the Arkansas River