Eads, Colorado

History

Eads was established in 1887 as a railroad town and was named after James Buchanan Eads, a structural engineer with the Missouri Pacific Railroad, who designed and built the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis in 1874 and went on to design and build the system of levees on the Mississippi Delta which made the river navigable by ocean-going vessels. The Eads, Colorado, post office opened on November 18, 1887. Kiowa County was created on April 11, 1889, and Eads was made the county seat in 1902. The Town of Eads was incorporated on January 29, 1916.

In the town, there are many historic houses and buildings that are still in use to this day; on Maine Street, there are many places to visit to learn more about the town's history. Since 2007, there is an annual event where the local businesses of Eads are supported called the Maine street bash; it includes many activities and live performances.

The original name of Eads was Dayton.

Geography

Eads is located in Kiowa County at coordinates and elevation 4219 ft. At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of 1.237 km2, all of it land.

Climate

Eads location in the eastern portion of Colorado gives it a Cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) featuring warm to hot dry sometimes wet summers and cold sometimes snowy winters. | Jan record high F = 78 | Feb record high F = 84 | Mar record high F = 90 | Apr record high F = 99 | May record high F = 106 | Jun record high F = 110 | Jul record high F = 110 | Aug record high F = 108 | Sep record high F = 107 | Oct record high F = 96 | Nov record high F = 86 | Dec record high F = 78 | year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F = 66.3 |Feb avg record high F = 70.5 |Mar avg record high F = 80.4 |Apr avg record high F = 86.4 |May avg record high F = 93.2 |Jun avg record high F = 100.2 |Jul avg record high F = 101.7 |Aug avg record high F = 99.0 |Sep avg record high F = 95.7 |Oct avg record high F = 88.5 |Nov avg record high F = 76.2 |Dec avg record high F = 66.6 |year avg record high F = 103.0

|Jan avg record low F = -1.1 |Feb avg record low F = 1.2 |Mar avg record low F = 11.2 |Apr avg record low F = 21.2 |May avg record low F = 33.1 |Jun avg record low F = 46.0 |Jul avg record low F = 54.3 |Aug avg record low F = 52.3 |Sep avg record low F = 37.8 |Oct avg record low F = 21.8 |Nov avg record low F = 8.7 |Dec avg record low F = -1.6 |year avg record low F = -7.2

| Jan record low F = -29 | Feb record low F = -24 | Mar record low F = -21 | Apr record low F = 4 | May record low F = 17 | Jun record low F = 30 | Jul record low F = 36 | Aug record low F = 38 | Sep record low F = 20 | Oct record low F = 1 | Nov record low F = -12 | Dec record low F = -24 | year record low F = |access-date = December 8, 2023}}{{cite web |access-date = December 8, 2023}}

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 747 people, 320 households, and 193 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,579.7 PD/sqmi. There were 389 housing units at an average density of 822.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 95.85% White, 0.67% African American, 0.80% Native American, 1.47% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.95% of the population.

There were 320 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $27,024, and the median income for a family was $35,625. Males had a median income of $29,375 versus $19,792 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,944. About 7.0% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Eads lies in Kiowa County School District RE-1 (also called Eads School District RE-1), one of two school districts in Kiowa County. The district operates three schools: Eads Elementary School (Pre-K-5th grade), Eads Middle School (6th-8th grades), and Eads High School (9th-12th grades). In the 2025–2026 school year, the elementary school had 126 students, the middle school had 43 students, and the high school had 48 students.

Health care

Weisbrod Memorial County Hospital serves Eads and Kiowa County.

References

References

1. "Active Colorado Municipalities". [[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]].
2. {{cite gnis
3. "Colorado Counties". [[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]].
4. "KIOWA COUNTY: THE HIGH PLAINS OF SOUTHEAST COLORADO".
5. (December 1, 2004). "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". [[Colorado.
6. (August 12, 2021). "Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data". [[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Department of Commerce]].
7. "ZIP Code Lookup". [[United States Postal Service]].
8. (1990). "Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989". [[Colorado Railroad Museum.
9. KiowaCountyColorado.com http://www.kiowacounty-colorado.com/eads.htm
10. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
11. . (2025). ["Eads Elementary School"](https://www.publicschoolreview.com/eads-elementary-school-profile).
12. . (2025). ["Eads Middle School"](https://www.publicschoolreview.com/eads-middle-school-profile).
13. . (2025). ["Eads High School"](https://www.publicschoolreview.com/eads-high-school-profile).
14. . (2024). ["SCHOOL''view''"](https://www.cde.state.co.us/schoolview/explore/profile/1430). *Colorado Department of Education*.
15. . (2024). ["Weisbrod Memorial County Hospital"](https://cha.com/colorado-hospitals/find-a-hospital/hospital/?id=324).