Morgan County is a county located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,111. 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 ...

is Fort Morgan. The county was named after old Fort Morgan, which in turn was named in honor of Colonel Christopher A. Morgan. Morgan County comprises the Fort Morgan, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the

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

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States: * Logan County, Arkansas * Logan County, Colorado * Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895) * Logan County, Illinois * Logan County, Kansas * Logan County ...

- northeast * Washington County - east, southeast * Adams County - southwest * Weld County - north, west

Major highways

* Interstate 76 * * US 6

U.S. Highway 6 * US 34

U.S. Highway 34 * Colorado 39

State Highway 39 * Colorado 52

State Highway 52 * Colorado 71

State Highway 71 * Colorado 144

State Highway 144

State protected area

* Jackson Lake State Park

Trails and byways

American Discovery Trail The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal tr ...

* Pawnee Pioneer Trails *

South Platte Trail South Platte Trail was a historic trail that followed the southern side of South Platte River from Fort Kearny in Nebraska to Denver, Colorado. Plains Indians, such as the Cheyenne and the Arapaho, hunted in the lands around the South Platte Ri ...

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 27,171 people, 9,539 households, and 6,973 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 10,410 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 79.65% White, 0.33% Black or African American, 0.81% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 16.37% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. 31.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 19,539 households 37.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.70% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.90% were non-families. 23.00% of households were one person and 10.90% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.29. The age distribution was 30.40% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 19.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 100.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.30 males. The median household income was $34,568 and the median family income was $39,102. Males had a median income of $27,361 versus $21,524 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,492. About 8.50% of families and 12.40% 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 15.30% of those under age 18 and 9.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Brush A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped during u ...

* Fort Morgan

Towns

* Hillrose * Log Lane Village * Wiggins

Census-designated places

* Blue Sky * Jackson Lake * Morgan Heights *

Orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

* Saddle Ridge * Snyder * Trail Side * Weldona

Other unincorporated communities

* Goodrich * Hoyt

Politics

Morgan County has long been one of the Republican Party's major strongholds in Colorado. It was one of only three Colorado counties (the others being El Paso County and

Larimer County Larimer County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Colli ...

) to vote for the re-election of

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

in 1932, and the only Democrat to obtain an absolute majority in the county since 1920 has been

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

in 1964 – although Roosevelt did win a plurality in 1936. In other statewide elections, the county also leans strongly Republican, although it was carried by Democrat

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 ...

in 1990 – when he carried all but four counties statewide – by Dick Lamm in 1982 and by Constitution Party candidate

Tom Tancredo Thomas Gerard Tancredo (; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented Colorado's 6th congressional district, the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to ...

in 2010.Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas
2010 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Colorado
/ref>

Notes

References

External links

Morgan County Government websiteColorado Historical Society
{{coord, 40.26, -103.81, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CO_source:UScensus1990 Colorado counties 1889 establishments in Colorado Eastern Plains Populated places established in 1889