ASPEN, COLORADO - USA
Aspen, Colorado is now a Colorado ski resort and cultural center, named
because of the abundance of aspen trees in the area. It was historically a
silver mining center.
Aspen is the county seat of Pitkin County and lies on the Roaring Fork River,
a tributary of the Colorado River about 40 miles south of Glenwood Springs,
Colorado. It sits in the Roaring Fork Valley, surrounded by mountains on
three sides: Red Mountain to the north, Smuggler Mountain to the east, and
Aspen Mountain to the south.
Silver was first discovered by prospectors from Leadville, Colorado in
1879 after a treaty with the Ute tribe opened up the Western Slope of
Colorado to entry. Because of difficult access mining development was slow
but in 1877 the railroad was extended to Aspen and it grew to a population
of 12,000 and 9 million dollars of silver bullion was mined at the height of
the boom in 1892.
During the life of the silver boom in Colorado, the price of silver steadily
declined. At first it was propped up by purchases by the Federal Government,
but in 1893 purchases ceased. Within a few days all the Aspen mines were
closed and thousands of miners were put out of work. It was proposed that
silver be recognized as legal tender and the Populist Party adopted that as
one of its main issues; Davis H. Waite, an Aspen newspaperman and agitator
was elected governor of Colorado on the Democratic Ticket; but in time the
movement failed.
Eventually, after wage cuts, mining revived somewhat, but production
declined and by the 1930 census only 705 residents remained. There was a
fine stock of old business blocks and residences and excellent snow.
Eventually Aspen was discovered and became a ski resort and cultural center,
home of the Aspen Music Festival and School.
Geography
Aspen is located at 39°11'32" North, 106°49'28" West (39.192297,
-106.824470)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
9.1 km² (3.5 mi²). 9.1 km² (3.5 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is
covered with water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 5,914 people, 2,903 households, and
1,082 families residing in the city. The population density is 646.9/km²
(1,675.4/mi²). There are 4,354 housing units at an average density of 476.2/km²
(1,233.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 94.94% White, 0.44% African
American, 0.24% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.64%
from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 6.14% of the population
are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 2,903 households out of which 16.5% have children under the age of
18 living with them, 28.8% are married couples living together, 5.6% have a
female householder with no husband present, and 62.7% are non-families.
43.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.8% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
1.94 and the average family size is 2.67.
In the city the population is spread out with 13.1% under the age of 18,
9.8% from 18 to 24, 42.1% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100
females there are 115.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 117.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $53,750, and the median
income for a family is $70,300. Males have a median income of $41,011 versus
$32,023 for females. The per capita income for the city is $40,680. 8.2% of
the population and 3.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 4.4% are under the age of 18 and 2.6% are 65
or older.
Famous residents
John Denver lived most of his life in Aspen. Bill Joy has a house in Aspen,
and is a frequenter of the city's Zélé Café
