Breckenridge, Colorado

History

Name

The first prospectors in the area built a stockade known as Fort Mary B named after Mary Bigelow, who was the only woman in the party. The town of Breckenridge was founded in November 1859 and named for prospector Thomas Breckenridge. General George E. Spencer persuaded the citizens to change the spelling of the town's name to Breckinridge in honor of U.S. Vice President John Cabell Breckinridge in the hopes of gaining a post office. Spencer succeeded in his plan and on January 18, 1860, the Breckinridge post office became the first U.S. post office between the Continental Divide and Salt Lake City. Thirty days after John Breckinridge accepted a commission as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army on November 2, 1861, the loyal Union town changed its name back to the original Breckenridge on December 2, 1861.

Discovery

Prospectors entered what is now Summit County (then part of Utah Territory) during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush of 1859, soon after the placer gold discoveries east of Breckenridge near Idaho Springs. Breckenridge was founded to serve the miners working rich placer gold deposits discovered along the Blue River. Placer gold mining was soon joined by hard rock mining, as prospectors followed the gold to its source veins in the hills. Gold in some upper gravel benches east of the Blue River was recovered by hydraulic mining. Gold production decreased in the late 1800s, but revived in 1908 by gold dredging operations along the Blue River and Swan River. The Breckenridge mining district is credited with production of about one million troy ounces (about 31,000 kilograms) of gold. The gold mines around Breckenridge are all shut down, although some are open to tourist visits. The characteristic gravel ridges left by the gold dredges can still be seen along the Blue River and Snake River, and the remains of a dredge are still afloat in a pond off the Swan River.

Notable among the early prospectors was Edwin Carter, a log cabin naturalist who decided to switch from mining to collecting wildlife specimens. His log cabin, built in 1875, still stands today and has been recently renovated by the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance with interactive exhibits and a small viewing room with a short creative film on his life and the early days around Breckenridge.

Harry Farncomb found the source of the French Gulch placer gold on Farncomb Hill in 1878. His strike, Wire Patch, consisted of alluvial gold in wire, leaf and crystalline forms. By 1880, he owned the hill. Farncomb later discovered a gold vein, which became the Wire Patch Mine. Other vein discoveries included Ontario, Key West, Boss, Fountain, and Gold Flake.

The Town of Breckenridge was incorporated on March 3, 1880. The Breckenridge Heritage Alliance reports that in the 1930s, a women's group in Breckenridge stumbled upon an 1880s map that failed to include Breckenridge. They speculated that Breckenridge had never been officially annexed into the United States, and was thus still considered "No Man's Land". This was completely false—official US maps did include Breckenridge—but these women created an incredibly clever marketing campaign out of this one map. In 1936 they invited the Governor of Colorado to Breckenridge to raise a flag at the Courthouse officially welcoming Breckenridge into the union—and he came. There was a big party, and the entire event/idea of Breckenridge being left off the map made national news. The "No Man's Land" idea later morphed into a new theme of Breckenridge being referred to as "Colorado's Kingdom", and the theme of the town's independent spirit is still celebrated to today during the annual "Kingdom Days" celebrations every June.

In December 1961, skiing was introduced to Breckenridge when several trails were cut on the lower part of Peak 8, connected to town by Ski Hill Road. In the ensuing decades, the ski area was gradually expanded onto adjacent peaks, with trails opening on Peak 9 in the early 1970s, Peak 10 in 1985, Peak 7 in 2002, and Peak 6 in 2013.

On November 3, 2009, voters passed ballot measure 2F by a nearly 3 to 1 margin (73%), which legalized marijuana possession for adults. The measure allows possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and also decriminalizes the possession of marijuana-related paraphernalia. Possession became legal January 1, 2010. Possession was still illegal by state law, however, until the passage of Colorado Amendment 64 in 2012.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.041 sqmi, all land. The ski area has a total area of 2880 acre of land. The elevation of Breckenridge is 9601 ft above sea level.

Climate

Breckenridge's climate is considered to be high-alpine with the tree line at 11500 ft. The average humidity remains around 30% throughout the year. At the elevation of the weather station, the climate could be described as a subalpine climate (Köppen Dfc) since summer means are above 50 F in spite of the very cool mornings. Winter lows are quite severe, but afternoons averaging around the freezing mark somewhat moderate mean temperatures.

A weather station was run in the town from 1893 to 1913, and from 1948 to the present day. However, temperature measurements are mostly confined to the first period, and the temperature record is thus very sparse. Even so, a temperature of freezing or below was recorded for every single date of the year except July 26. During the winter of 1898–1899, snow was reported to fall for a record 79 consecutive days. Residents tunneled through the snow to navigate Main Street.

|Jan record high F = 72 |Feb record high F = 71 |Mar record high F = 61 |Apr record high F = 69 |May record high F = 78 |Jun record high F = 85 |Jul record high F = 86 |Aug record high F = 90 |Sep record high F = 86 |Oct record high F = 77 |Nov record high F = 69 |Dec record high F = 60 |year record high F = 90 |Jan avg record high F = 45.5 |Feb avg record high F = 45.4 |Mar avg record high F = 51.9 |Apr avg record high F = 60.3 |May avg record high F = 68.2 |Jun avg record high F = 76.4 |Jul avg record high F = 79.5 |Aug avg record high F = 79.9 |Sep avg record high F = 74.5 |Oct avg record high F = 67.1 |Nov avg record high F = 57.0 |Dec avg record high F = 48.3 |year avg record high F = 80.8 |Jan avg record low F = -22.2 |Feb avg record low F = -21.0 |Mar avg record low F = -11.5 |Apr avg record low F = -4.0 |May avg record low F = 8.9 |Jun avg record low F = 21.9 |Jul avg record low F = 28.6 |Aug avg record low F = 28.2 |Sep avg record low F = 17.0 |Oct avg record low F = 3.2 |Nov avg record low F = -10.9 |Dec avg record low F = -21.0 |year avg record low F = -28.3 |Jan record low F = -40 |Feb record low F = -37 |Mar record low F = -25 |Apr record low F = -35 |May record low F = -6 |Jun record low F = 3 |Jul record low F = 10 |Aug record low F = 22 |Sep record low F = 7 |Oct record low F = -11 |Nov record low F = -26 |Dec record low F = -36 |year record low F = -40 |Jan snow depth inch = 30.3 |Feb snow depth inch = 38.9 |Mar snow depth inch = 41.4 |Apr snow depth inch = 30.2 |May snow depth inch = 6.7 |Jun snow depth inch = 0.3 |Jul snow depth inch = 0.0 |Aug snow depth inch = 0.0 |Sep snow depth inch = 0.8 |Oct snow depth inch = 7.1 |Nov snow depth inch = 12.8 |Dec snow depth inch = 22.6 |year snow depth inch = 27.7

Demographics

|align-fn=center 2020 Census

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 2,408 people, 1,081 households, and 380 families residing in the town. The population density was 486.4 PD/sqmi. There were 4,270 housing units at an average density of 862.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 95.56% White, 0.37% African American, 0.33% Native American, 1.04% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.12% from some other races and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.44% of the population.

There were 1,081 households, out of which 13.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.9% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 64.8% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.61.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 11.1% under the age of 18, 22.8% from 18 to 24, 45.3% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 2.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 160.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 164.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $43,938, and the median income for a family was $52,212. Males had a median income of $29,571 versus $27,917 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,675. About 5.2% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Events

Breckenridge holds public events throughout the year.

Winter

Every January, the International Snow Sculpture Championships are held in Breckenridge, where sculptors from around the world compete to create works of art from twenty-ton blocks of snow. The annual winter Ullr Fest parade pays homage to the Norse god of snow Ullr. The Backcountry Film Fest began in the 21st century, which happens in January. That is held about the same time as the Ullr Fest.

Since winter of 2008–2009, the Freeway Terrain Park on Peak 8 hosts the Winter Dew Tour in December, featuring the biggest names in extreme snowboarding and skiing. Other events held on the mountain include the annual Imperial Challenge, Breck's version of a triathlon, The 5 Peaks, North America's longest ski mountaineering race, the Breck Ascent Series, with races up the mountain, as well as other competitions, festivals, and the annual Spring Fever month-long celebration at the end of the ski season with festivities and other celebrations around spring skiing.

Summer and fall

During the summer, Breckenridge is host to the National Repertory Orchestra and the Breckenridge Music Institute. Concerts are scheduled three to four nights a week. Full orchestra, ensembles, and contemporary artists perform at the Riverwalk Center, downtown near the Blue River. Several art fairs come to Breckenridge every summer, attracting many local artists and buyers. The town also puts on an annual Fourth of July celebration, featuring a parade in the morning and fireworks at night. In September each year since 1981, the Breckenridge Festival of film is held.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Breckenridge include:

• Pat Ahern (1961–present), U.S. Olympic Nordic combined skier
• Edwin Carter (c.1830–1900), miner, naturalist
• Jeff Cravath (1903–1953), football coach
• Barney Ford (1822–1902), Colorado businessman and civil-rights pioneer
• Arielle Gold (1996–present), Olympic bronze medalist snowboarder
• Taylor Gold (1993–present), Olympic snowboarder
• Al Jourgensen (1958–present), singer-songwriter, producer
• Heather McPhie (1984–present), U.S. Olympic freestyle/moguls skier
• Monique Merrill (1969–present), mountain biker, ski mountaineer
• J. R. Moehringer (1964–present), novelist, reporter
• Helen Rich (1894–1971), novelist and journalist
• Betsy Sodaro (1984–present), actress, comedian
• Pete Swenson (1967–present), ski mountaineer
• Belle Turnbull (1881–1970), poet
• Katie Uhlaender (1984–present), U.S. Olympic skeleton racer

References

References

1. "Active Colorado Municipalities". [[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]].
2. {{cite gnis
3. "Colorado Counties". [[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]].
4. (December 1, 2004). "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". [[Colorado.
5. "2025 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
6. (December 29, 2022). "2020 Census Qualifying Urban Areas and Final Criteria Clarifications". [[Federal Register]].
7. "ZIP Code Lookup". [[United States Postal Service]].
8. "Explore Census Data". [[United States Census Bureau]].
9. "37th Annual Breckenridge Film Festival". Without A Box.
10. "About the Breck Film Fest".
11. (January 11, 2017). "Backcountry Film Festival returns Jan. 21 to Breckenridge". Summit Daily.
12. (2023). "Breckenridge Ullr Fest". gobreck.com.
13. Hague, Rick. (May 8, 2015). "Summit County history: Two theories of how Breckenridge got its name". SummitDaily.
14. Dawson, John Frank. (1954). "Breckenridge". Place Names in Colorado: Why 700 Communities Were So Named.
15. "Town History, Gold Dust to White Gold". Town of Breckenridge.
16. A. H. Koschman and M. H. Bergendahl (1968) ''Principal Gold-Producing Districts of the United States''. US Geological Survey, Professional Paper 610, p. 116–117
17. Voynick, S.M., 1992, Colorado Gold, Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company, {{ISBN. 0878424555
18. "Town of Breckenridge : Living in Breckenridge".
19. "National Weather Service Climate". [[National Weather Service]].
20. (January 3, 2018). "It once snowed for 79 days straight in this Colorado town".
21. "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access". [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]].
22. "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau.
23. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing". United States Census Bureau.
24. "Breckenridge Snow Sculptures". Ron Shelton.
25. "Edwin Carter Discovery Center". Breckenridge Heritage Alliance.
26. "Jeff Cravath".
27. Foltz, Sebastian. (March 6, 2015). "Steamboat Olympic snowboarders Taylor and Arielle Gold at home in Breckenridge". Summit Daily.
28. Murphy, Tom. (June 12, 2012). "Ministry's Al Jourgensen on his ties to Colorado: living in Breckenridge, attending Greeley High School and his ill-fated attempt at a rodeo career".
29. Frame, Andy. (April 9, 2005). "McPhie wins Landon Sawyer Bump Bash". Summit Daily.
30. McClean, Page. (July 25, 2015). "Life on Two Wheels: Globetrotting with former adventure racer Monique Merrill". Summit Daily.
31. Clarke, Norm. (January 5, 2010). "An 'OPEN' Discussion with Jr. Moehringer". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
32. Beaton, Gail M.. (2012). "Colorado Women: A History". University Press of Colorado.
33. Porter IV, Miles. (August 30, 2012). "Hey, Spike! offers a plethora of personalities". Summit Daily.
34. Lapides, Katie. (February 10, 2011). "Colorado's randonee king: Pete Swenson". Summit Daily.
35. "Katie Uhlaender". Team USA.