Meeker is a statutory town in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Rio Blanco 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, that is the most populous municipality in the county. The town population was 2,374 at the 2020 United States census.

Description

The town is largely a ranching community, located in the wide fertile valley of the White River in northwestern Colorado. Relatively isolated from other communities, it sits near the intersection of State Highway 13 and State Highway 64, on the north side of the White River and at the base of a long ridge, known locally as China Wall. The

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

has a regional office in the town. Meeker is the home of the annual Meeker Classic Sheepdog trials.

History

The town is named for

Nathan Meeker Nathan Cook Meeker (July 12, 1817 – September 30, 1879) was a 19th-century American journalist, Homestead Acts, homesteader, entrepreneur, and Indian agent for the Federal government of the United States, federal government. He is noted for h ...

, the United States

Indian Agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the U.S. government. Agents established in Nonintercourse Act of 1793 The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the Un ...

who was killed along with 11 other white citizens by White River

Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin * Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah * Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah * Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern ...

Indians in the 1879 Meeker Incident, also known as the Meeker Massacre. The site of the uprising, the former White River Indian Agency, is located along State Highway 64 in the White River valley west of town and is marked by a prominent sign. None of the buildings remain. Meeker was the first incorporated town in Northwestern Colorado and is the County seat for Rio Blanco county. The town was incorporated in 1885 and became the central hub of banking and trade in Northwestern Colorado for several generations. After the uprising and the ensuing conflict known as the Ute War, in 1880 the US Congress passed legislation requiring the Ute population to relocate to reservations in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. The

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

established a

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

on the current site of the town, called the Camp at White River. The town was founded in 1883 following the removal of the troops. The White River Museum is located just north of the Rio Blanco County Courthouse and housed in several original wooden structures of the Army garrison. The town emerged as a regional center for

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

by the turn of the 20th century.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

visited the town twice in 1901 and in 1905 on a

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

and bear hunting trip and stayed in the historic Hotel Meeker opposite the courthouse. The town is also a favorite summer destination and permanent residence for many prominent Americans, including billionaires

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

, former mayor of New York,

Henry Kravis Henry Roberts Kravis (born January 6, 1944) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist.Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

Jon Winkelried, and comedian

Daniel Tosh Daniel Dwight Tosh (born May 29, 1975) is an American comedian, writer, and producer. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a degree in marketing, Tosh moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. His career accelera ...

Geography

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 has a total area of , all of it land. The town is situated on the White River at an elevation of above sea level.

Demographics

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 ...

system, Meeker has a

warm-summer 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 ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Meeker was on July 11, 1900, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 7, 1913, and January 12, 1963.

Notable people

* Neal Blue, co-owner of General Atomics * Virginia Neal Blue (1910–1970), Colorado State Treasurer from 1967 to 1970 * Margaret L. Curry (1898–1986), Colorado state

parole officer A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probatio ...

* Buddy Roosevelt, actor and stunt performer

References

External links

*
Meeker Range Call and 4th of July Celebrations

Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway

Meeker Chamber of Commerce

Meeker Classic Sheepdog Championship Trials

Pioneers Medical Center
{{authority control County seats in Colorado Towns in Colorado Towns in Rio Blanco County, Colorado