Fountain, Colorado

Fountain, Colorado
Home rule municipality [1]
Fountain, Colorado circa 1942
Motto:  "Pure Colorado"
Location of the City of Fountain in El Paso County, Colorado.
Coordinates: 38°41′20″N104°40′58″W / 38.68889°N 104.68278°W / 38.68889; -104.68278
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	El Paso
Founded	1859
Incorporated	April 23, 1903 [2]
Government
•  Mayor	Sharon Thompson
Area [3]
• City	22.367 sq mi (57.930 km2)
• Land	22.342 sq mi (57.865 km2)
• Water	0.025 sq mi (0.635 km2)
Elevation [4]	5,558 ft (1,694 m)
Population  (2020) [5]
• City	29,802
• Estimate  (2022) [6]	28,907
• Density	1,296/sq mi (500.5/km2)
•  Urban	632,494 (US: 66th)
•  Metro	768,832 (US: 79th)
•  Front Range	5,055,344
Time zone	UTC–7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC–6 (MDT)
ZIP Code	80817
Area code	719
FIPS code	08-27865
GNIS feature ID	2410535 [4]
Sales tax	7.53% [7]
Major Routes
Website	fountaincolorado.org

The City of Fountain is a home rule municipality located in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The population was 29,802 at the 2020 census. ^[5] Fountain is a part of the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor.

Fountain is located 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Colorado Springs and just east of Fort Carson. Fountain and the Colorado Springs suburbs Security and Widefield make up the "Fountain Valley" community. ^[8]

History

Fountain was built in 1859 as a railroad shipping center for local ranches and farms. The town was named for Fountain Creek ^[9] and was incorporated in 1900.

A train wreck, "The Blast", as it is now known, occurred in Fountain during the spring of 1888. Just after three in the morning on May 14, 1888, a freight train carrying eighteen tons of explosives and a passenger train collided in the city. The accident killed three people: Charles F. Smith, a Fountain lumber dealer originally from Keokuk, Iowa, Henry Hutchins, a Fountain merchant and Mrs. Sarah Widrig a local hat maker from Fountain. (There are conflicting reports of others who may not have died immediately, but later as a result of injuries from the crash.) ^[10]

The blast from the collision created a very loud explosion that could be heard from miles away. The crash destroyed a nearby church, a grocery store and created a large crater in the ground forty feet in diameter and fifteen feet deep. ^[10]

The cause of the wreck was attributed to a pair of unruly vagrants who were kicked off of the freight train north of Fountain in Colorado Springs. After an investigation by The Rocky Mountain News , it was later reported that one of the two vagrants murdered a third man, Frank Shipman, on the freight train. Shipman was returning from visiting his brother in Pueblo, Colorado. The unidentified vagrants and Shipman had been arguing and Shipman was struck hard in the head killing him. The men attempted to dispose of Shipman's dead body and cover-up the crime by disconnecting the train car Shipman's body was in. The train car Shipman's body was in, three other train cars carrying the explosive naphtha, and the caboose of the freight train were disconnected by the men and sent southbound towards Fountain. Meanwhile, a passenger train was traveling northbound on the same tracks. The collision followed. Thirty riders on board the northbound passenger train were able to escape the locomotive before the collision thanks to a frantic warning from the conductor. Twenty-eight people were injured. The vagrants suspected at the root of Shipman's murder and the train wreck were never found and no one was ever charged with a crime. ^[11]

"The Blast" remains an important event in the city's history. It is commemorated with an annual street dance held at Fountain's City Hall Plaza each July.

In 1999, Fountain was chosen as "America's Millennium City" by The New York Times . ^[12] Fountain was named an "All-America City" in 2002 by the National Civic League. ^[13] The city is the home of Pikes Peak International Raceway.

Fountain Valley Town Hall

In 2008, in a controversial move, the city of Fountain purchased a 480-acre (1.9 km²) ranch, the H2O Ranch in Custer County, for $3.5 million. The city was interested in the prime water rights on the property totaling 700 acre-feet (860,000 m³) a year. Fountain is in the process of drying out the ranch and moving through the water courts to actually receive some of that water. They claim that they should be able to successfully receive 600 of that 700 acre-feet (860,000 m³) after the water courts have made their decisions. It is expected that Fountain will separate the water from the ranch and then sell the ranch separately. ^{[14] [15]}

In 2014, Cop Car began filming in Fountain. ^[16]

In 2020, Fountain water was considered safe to drink after a long running contamination problem with PFCs (perflourinated compounds) being leaked into the water table by the nearby Air Force base. ^[17] According to a recent study, PFCs have been shown to cause penile shrinkage. ^[18]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.367 square miles (57.93 km²), of which 22.342 square miles (57.87 km²) are land and 0.025 square miles (0.065 km²), or 0.99%, are water. The eponymous Fountain Creek flows south through the city.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	99		—
1910	431		—
1920	595		38.1%
1930	577		−3.0%
1940	571		−1.0%
1950	713		24.9%
1960	1,602		124.7%
1970	3,515		119.4%
1980	8,324		136.8%
1990	9,984		19.9%
2000	15,197		52.2%
2010	25,846		70.1%
2020	29,802		15.3%
2022 (est.)	28,907	[6]	−3.0%
U.S. Decennial Census [19] 2020 Census [5]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 29,802 people, 9,931 households, and 7,779 families residing in the city. ^[20] The population density was 1,324.5 inhabitants per square mile (511.4/km²). There were 10,324 housing units.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 15,197 people, 5,039 households, and 4,061 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,085.7 inhabitants per square mile (419.2/km²). There were 5,219 housing units at an average density of 372.9 per square mile (144.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.07% White, 8.74% African American, 1.41% Native American, 2.01% Asian, 0.55% Pacific Islander, 6.71% from other races, and 5.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.06% of the population.

There were 5,039 households, out of which 49.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.7% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.4% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.5% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,121, and the median income for a family was $44,735. Males had a median income of $31,192 versus $24,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,975. About 5.9% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Fountain has a municipal run bus that links the city with Pikes Peak State College. ^[21] Fountain is also part of the Bustang network, which provides it intercity transportation. It is along the Lamar-Pueblo-Colorado Springs Outrider line. ^[22]

Notable people

• Don Cockroft, NFL – Cleveland Browns
• Chase Headley, MLB – New York Yankees
• Peter La Farge, singer-songwriter ("The Ballad of Ira Hayes")
• Phil Loadholt, NFL – Minnesota Vikings
• Pete Nelson, tree house designer and builder
• Jon Watts, film director

See also

• Colorado portal

• South Central Colorado Urban Area
• Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area
• Fountain-Fort Carson High School
• Mesa Ridge High School

References

1. "Active Colorado Municipalities". Colorado Department of Local Affairs . Retrieved October 18, 2021.
2. "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
3. "2023 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
4. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fountain, Colorado
5. "Explore Census Data". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved March 20, 2024.
6. "City and Town Population Totals: 2020–2022". United States Census Bureau. March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
7. "Fountain (CO) sales tax rate" . Retrieved March 20, 2024.
8. "Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce". chamber.fountaincolorado.org. Archived from the original on December 23, 2004. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
9. "Profile for Fountain, Colorado, CO". ePodunk. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
10. "A WHOLE TOWN WRECKED; A COLLISION FOLLOWED BY A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION. THREE PERSONS INSTANTLY KILLED, THREE FATALLY INJURED, AND MANY OTHERS SERIOMSLY HURT". Query.nytimes.com. May 15, 1888. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
11. Lane, Brian; Gregg, Wilfred (April 13, 2004). The Encyclopedia of Mass Murder: A Chillling Collection of Mass Murder Cases. Running Press. ISBN   9780786713561 . Retrieved October 28, 2017– via Google Books.
12. Bennet, James (December 5, 1999). "A Few of Our Favorite Things". The New York Times.
13. "2002 All-America City". chamber.fountaincolorado.org. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
14. "City buys Valley water rights". Wet Mountain Tribune. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
15. Cloud, David S. (January 30, 2020). "'Our voices are not being heard': Colorado town a test case for California PFAS victims". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
16. "Colorado Springs duo remain separated from Kevin Bacon". Gazette Telegraph. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
17. "City of Fountain says the water is safe to drink". FOX21 News Colorado. October 13, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
18. "Nonstick Frying Pans can cause P**** to Shrink".
19. "Census of Population and Housing". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
20. "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
21. "Transit Route" (PDF). Fountain Colorado. City of Fountain.
22. "Bustang Schedules". RideBustang. CDOT.

External links

• City of Fountain – Official Website
• CDOT map of the City of Fountain