Glenwood Springs is a home rule municipality and the county seat of Garfield County, Colorado, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, the city has a population of 9,963. It is located at the confluence of the Roaring Fork River and the Colorado River, connecting the Roaring Fork Valley and a series of smaller towns on the Colorado River.
Glenwood Springs is known for its hot springs.
History For thousands of years, the area now known as Glenwood Springs has been inhabited by Indigenous people. The oral history of the Kapuuta and Mouache bands recall that Glenwood Springs is located within the traditional Nuuchiu tuvupu (The People's Land) of the Subuagan and Parianuche bands. Fred Conetah's History of the Northern Utes states that the Yampa or White River bands used the area, which is now in the Ute ancestral jurisdiction. The Utes were nomadic hunter-gatherers who seasonally used the natural hot springs in the area. The U.S. government surveyed the land in the mid-19th century, although they had no claim on the land. An 1868 treaty negotiated by the Tabeguache Ute Chief Ouray preserved the hunting grounds in the area of present-day Glenwood Springs.
Glenwood Springs was originally known as "Defiance" because its original white settlers squatted on the Ute Indian Reservation. Defiance was a camp of tents, saloons, and brothels. The Denver & Rio Grande, then a narrow-gauge railway arrived from the east in 1881,Beebe, Lucius and Clegg, Charles, “Rio Grande, Mainline of the Rockies”, Howell-North Books 1962. en route to Grand Junction.
Garfield County was created on February 10, 1883, with Carbonate as the county seat. The mining town of Carbonate was located high in the remote Flat Tops mountains. Isaac Cooper platted a legal settlement named Barlow at the confluence of the Roaring Fork River and the Grand River where Defiance had been, and the Barlow, Colorado, post office opened on June 25, 1883. Garfield County voters moved the county seat to the much more accessible Barlow later that year.
Isaac Cooper's wife Sarah had a hard time adjusting to the frontier life and, in an attempt to make her environment somewhat more comfortable, persuaded the founders to change the name of Barlow to Glenwood Springs, after her hometown of Glenwood, Iowa. The Barlow post office was renamed Glenwood Springs, Colorado, on March 28, 1884, and the Town of Glenwood Springs was incorporated on September 4, 1885.
The location of Glenwood Springs, and its railroad stop, established a center of commerce in the area. The city has seen well-known visitors, including President Teddy Roosevelt, who spent a summer vacation living in the historic Hotel Colorado. Doc Holliday, who was known for the O.K. Corral gunfight, spent the final months of his life in Glenwood Springs and is buried in the town's original Pioneer Cemetery above Bennett Avenue. Kid Curry is buried in the same location.
Glenwood Springs was one of the first places in the United States to have electric lights. The original lighting was installed in 1897 inside of the Fairy Caves in Iron Mountain. Later, a dam was built on the Grand River in Glenwood Canyon, providing water for the Shoshone Hydroelectric Generating Station, which began producing power on May 16, 1909. On July 21, 1921, an Act of Congress changed the name of the Grand River to the Colorado River. The Shoshone plant retains some of the largest and oldest water rights on the upper Colorado River, the "Shoshone Call", which is valuable for the protection of Colorado River water rather than the minimal electricity produced.
The serial killer Ted Bundy was imprisoned in the Garfield County Jail until he escaped on the night of December 30, 1977, an escape which went undetected for 17 hours.Michaud, Stephen, and Hugh Aynesworth. The Only Living Witness. Authorlink 1999, paperback. . p. 212-213.
Geography
Glenwood Springs is located in the narrow mountain valleys that host the confluence of the Colorado River and the Roaring Fork River. The surrounding terrain is steeply contoured on all sides, containing several caves. The geology of the area includes geothermal activity, such as the local hot springs, but it is also evidenced through other features such as the Dotsero maar. Occasional proposals to leverage the geothermal energy for other purposes arise. Glenwood Springs has experienced several mudslides throughout its history, a threat mitigated somewhat by public works.
Glenwood Springs is considered a walkable town by PBS and Walking Magazine, included in the Walking Town Hall of Fame. Though the town's geography makes it a natural environment for pedestrians and cyclists, there are also trails running throughout and around the city that resulted from planning efforts that began in the 1980s in response to congestion and traffic.
Due to civic planning during the early years of the city, Glenwood Springs owns some senior water rights to tributaries of the Colorado River. Glenwood Springs water supply is sufficient for its population, unlike some areas of the American West, conservation plans have been enacted anyway for largely environmental reasons. The town's drinking water is supplied primarily through senior rights to major watersheds in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area, and the tap water is generally of safe quality.
Mineral deposits exist further up the Crystal River and in the Roaring Fork area, and petroleum resources are ample in western Garfield County, which brings tax revenue to Glenwood Springs. However, the town itself lies outside of the Colorado Mineral Belt, and there are no mineral or oil and gas sources near Glenwood Springs proper or its watersheds. While the paucity of minerals and oil was disastrous for early miners hoping to strike it rich, modern Glenwood Springs has none of the typical Colorado mountain town legacy of resource extraction, generally good air quality, water, and land. However, valley inversions and heavy traffic to Aspen can lead to air quality problems during exceptionally cold spells of winter.
At the 2020 United States census, the city had a total area of , including of water.
Climate Glenwood Springs has a generally continental steppe climate, much more consistently stable than that of the Front Range and most of Colorado, though still decidedly continental and prone to periods of extreme weather. Microclimates dominate Glenwood Springs, with areas close to the rivers often much more damp and cool than hillsides.
Demographics
Glenwood Springs is the principal city of the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Glenwood Springs had a population of 9,963. The median age was 37.4 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.3 males age 18 and over.
99.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,916 households in Glenwood Springs, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 43.1% were married-couple households, 21.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 4,276 housing units, of which 8.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.4%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 6,357 63.8% Black or African American 65 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native 115 1.2% Asian 114 1.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 3 0.0% Some other race 1,829 18.4% Two or more races 1,480 14.9% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 3,532 35.5%
2000 census As of the 2000 census, there were 7,736 people, 3,216 households, and 1,926 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,353 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.42% White, 0.23% African American, 0.71% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 5.82% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 13.3% of the population. 13.9% were of German, 13.3% English, 12.9% Irish, 7.6% American and 7% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 3,216 households, out of which 30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,934, and the median income for a family was $52,903. Males had a median income of $38,506 versus $29,272 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,449. About 3.5% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.
Despite being an expensive area in which to live, Glenwood Springs has the highest life expectancy in America for 40-year-olds making working wages.
Economy
Glenwood does not primarily serve as a bedroom community. In 2020, it received stimulus money. Due to severe geographic constraints, if further population growth is to be accommodated, it must come primarily from multifamily infill development.
Bloomberg Business named Glenwood Springs the seventh wealthiest small town in America in 2015, due principally to the influence of Aspen. Glenwood Springs and Aspen share a micropolitan statistical area, and businesses often serve the entire Valley. Many small businesses start in the area due to the ambient wealth and a strong preference for local business, but they typically relocate to larger metropolitan areas after successful growth leads to needs for more affordable labor and physical resources.
A ranch located in Glenwood Springs produces Red Delicious apples.
Top Employers As of the city's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Glenwood Springs' top employers are:
# Employer Employee Range 1 Valley View Hospital 1,000 - 1,250 2 Walmart 250 - 499 3 Lowe's Home Improvement 250 - 499 4 City Market 250 - 499 5 Target 250 - 499 6 Colorado Mountain College 250 - 499 7 Roaring Fork School District RE-1 100 - 249 8 Glenwood Hot Springs Resort 100 - 249 9 Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park 100 - 249 10 City of Glenwood Springs 100 - 249
Arts and culture Strawberry Days Festival, founded in 1898, is Colorado's oldest festival, and the oldest continuously held civic celebration west of the Mississippi River.
Parks and recreation Hot springs
There are numerous hot springs in the area, including several facilities in town that range from with varying mineral content. Native Americans believe the springs had medicinal and magical qualities, and prior to 1800, the Utes believed the springs were sacred.
Yampah Hot Springs vapor caves are underground geothermal steam baths, historically used by the Ute people as a source of rejuvenation and healing. The vapor caves consist of three connecting rock chambers, and temperatures average .
Iron Mountain Hot Springs features mineral water soaking pools.
Water sports Glenwood Springs is noted for its fishing. There is a dedicated Glenwood Whitewater Park.