Johnstown is a home rule municipality in Weld and Larimer counties in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. The population was 17,303 at the 2020 United States census.

History

The Town of Johnstown began with the vision of Harvey J. Parish before its platting in 1902. When Parish realized that the Great Western Railway was building close to his homestead, he purchased land for $11/acre and platted the land that would later be known as Johnstown. The original plat of Johnstown contained no more than 10 acres. Lots were 25'x140' with 20' alleys. Johnstown's main street, now known as Parish Avenue, was originally named Greeley Avenue Public Road. Incorporated in 1907, Johnstown was named for Parish's son, John. When asked what he would call his new Town, he replied, "It will be my son's town. Let's call it John's Town." John Parish would later serve as Mayor from 1929 to 1934. JohnstownDiogenite

meteorite fall A meteorite fall, also called an observed fall, is a meteorite collected after its fall from outer space, that was also observed by people or automated devices. Any other meteorite is called a "meteorite find, find". There are more than 1,300 d ...

in the adjacent former town of Elwell on the afternoon of July 6, 1924, became known as the Johnstown meteorite. It was notable with a number of large pieces of the broken-up asteroid recovered, including one of that impacted into the Earth to a depth of . The

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

fell during an outdoor funeral service with more than 200 people attending who witnessed the event or heard the several stones falling. The meteorite is classified as an " achondrite stony meteorite of the diogenite class in the HED group" of meteorites that are believed to have hived off of the asteroid Vesta approximately one billion years ago.

Geography

Johnstown is located just west of the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the Big Thompson River and the Little Thompson River. Greeley is about ten miles to the east-northeast and Loveland is approximately nine miles to the northwest. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town in 2010 had a total area of .

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 2010, there were 9,887 people, 3,356 households, and 2,738 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,554 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.7%

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 ...

, 0.8%

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 ...

, 1.4% Native American, 1.4% Asian, and 7.3% from other 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 16.8% of the population. There were 3,356 households, out of which 42.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.7% 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, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% were non-families. 13.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.25. In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.2% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $69,919, and the median income for a family was $75,000. Males had a median income of $55,426 versus $40,536 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 $26,324. About 5.4% of families and 5.9% 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 6.4% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Major industry and commercial activity

The Town of Johnstown has over 470 businesses that include small family-owned businesses, service companies, high-tech manufacturing, and distribution, as well as national headquarters. Johnstown's economy continues to expand and grow with major companies such Kroger's Fulfillment Center, Buc-ee's Travel Center, and Woods Grocer expanding into the community. Regional economic development partners include Johnstown Downtown Development Association, Upstate Colorado, Northern Colorado Regional Economic Development Initiative, and Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation.

Education

Johnstown is served by two school districts. The majority of residents fall within Weld County School District RE-5J, though the northwest section of the town falls within

Thompson R2-J School District The Thompson School District is located in Loveland, Colorado Loveland is a List of cities and towns in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality and the List of cities and towns in Colorado, second most populous municipality i ...

Johnstown

* Letford Elementary School (closed) * Elwell Elementary School * Pioneer Ridge Elementary School * Roosevelt Middle School * Roosevelt High School (moved) * Riverview PK-8 School

Milliken

* Knowledge Quest Academy * Milliken Middle School (moved) * Milliken Elementary School

Notable people

Reed Doughty (NFL player –

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

). Doughty was raised in Johnstown and played varsity football at Roosevelt High School.

References

External links

*
Town of Johnstown Facebook Page

CDOT map of the Town of Johnstown

Johnstown BBQ Day
(Annual town celebration, first Saturday of June) {{authority control Towns in Colorado Towns in Weld County, Colorado Towns in Larimer County, Colorado