Elizabeth, Colorado

History

Elizabeth was originally a saw mill camp. The town was later named after a family member of John Evans, a territorial governor. The Elizabeth, Colorado, post office opened on April 24, 1882, and the Town of Elizabeth was incorporated on October 9, 1890.

In August 2024, the Elizabeth School District’s School Board removed 19 books from school libraries because they included what the Board deemed to be ‘sensitive’ topics. Students, parents and authors sued the Elizabeth School District in federal court, and in March 2025 they won a preliminary injunction requiring that all 19 of the removed books be immediately returned to the browsing shelves of school libraries and prohibiting the Elizabeth School Board from removing any other library books due to its disagreement with the content and/or viewpoint of those books.

Geography

Elizabeth is located in western Elbert County at coordinates and elevation 6477 ft.

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of 5.178 km2, all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,434 people, 496 households, and 380 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,670.6 PD/sqmi. There were 513 housing units at an average density of 597.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 94.00% White, 0.07% African American, 0.84% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 3.49% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.00% of the population.

There were 496 households, out of which 47.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.27.

The population breakdown was 33.3% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 36.5% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 4.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $49,596, and the median income for a family was $51,902. Males had a median income of $38,875 versus $25,066 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,902. About 7.8% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Media

Elizabeth is home to the weekly newspaper the Meadowlark Herald, which is also the only newspaper wholly owned and published in Elbert County. The Elbert County News, The Ranchland News, The West Elbert County Sun, and The Prairie Times also publish Elbert County news and distribute widely in the county.

Elizabeth is also the hometown of author and stand-up comedian Sam Tallent.

Infrastructure and transport

Colorado State Highway 86 bisects the town, leading east 7 mi to Kiowa and west 15 mi to Castle Rock. Denver is 40 mi to the northwest via Franktown and Parker. The town lays in between the Gold Creek and Box Elder Creek (locally known as the Running Creek). No public transport exists in Elizabeth.

A group of three separate unmarked turf airstrips exist to Elizabeth's southeast, though has no commercial service. Elizabeth is located equidistantly to Denver and Colorado Springs, with both cities' primary airports, Denver International Airport and Colorado Springs Airport, serving as the closest major air gateways to Elizabeth.

Education

It is in the Elizabeth School District.

Notable people

• Greg Lopez, former U.S. representative and mayor of Parker
• John C. Malone, American businessman and philanthropist
• Sam Tallent, Comedian/Author

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. (August 12, 2021). "Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data". [[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Department of Commerce]].
6. "ZIP Code Lookup". [[United States Postal Service]].
7. "History".
8. Dawson, John Frank. (1954). "Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin". The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co..
9. (1990). "Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989". [[Colorado Railroad Museum.
10. Sweeney, Charlotte. (March 19, 2025). "Order in Civil Action No. 1:24-cv-03512-CNS-STV". US District Court for the District of Colorado.
11. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
12. http://www.meadowlarkherald.blogspot.com {{User-generated source. (August 2022)
13. (November 15, 2023). "Comedian/Author Sam Tallent on the pen, the mic and the future".
14. "Dropped Pin".
15. "Airports Near Me - Elizabeth, Colorado {{!}} Travelmath".
16. Geography Division. (December 17, 2020). "2020 Census - School District Reference Map: Elbert County, CO". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
17. Toomer, Lindsey. (2024-11-26). "Colorado's Greg Lopez reflects on six-month stint as a member of Congress".
18. "Forbes profile: John Malone".
19. "The Sludge with Sam Tallent {{!}} Soder Podcast {{!}} Ep 17".