Crested Butte, Colorado

Crested Butte is a home rule town located in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States.

History

The East River Valley where Crested Butte is located was once used as a summer residence by the Ute people. However, they were quickly displaced when European-Americans first entered the area. The first white people to explore the valley were beaver trappers, shortly followed by surveyors. Captain John Gunnison, after whom Gunnison County is named, was one of the early explorers to enter the area, leading a expedition in 1853.

[[File:CBCityHallCrop.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.6|Old Town

Hall, built 1883]]

In the 1860s and 1870s coal and silver mines began to open in the surrounding area, and many little mining towns formed. The Crested Butte, Colorado, post office opened on May 26, 1879, and the Town of Crested Butte was incorporated on July 15, 1880.

The town has changed from a mining town to a tourist retreat catering to the affluent as the ski resort has taken over the local economy. This has led to a housing crisis- the average home in Crested Butte is worth over $900,000.

The Colorado General Assembly in 1990 designated Crested Butte the Wildflower Capital of Colorado.

Climate

The climate type is dominated by the winter season, a long, bitterly cold period with short, clear days, relatively little precipitation in the form of rain, but massive amounts in the form of snow, and low humidity. The Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is Dfc (Continental Subarctic Climate). The record snowfall amount was 415 inches in the 1977/1978 winter season.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Crested Butte had a population of 1,639. The median age was 39.5 years. 15.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 10.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 106.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.8 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 771 households in Crested Butte, of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 34.5% were married-couple households, 25.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2000, there were 1,529 people, 692 households, and 253 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 930 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.19% White, 0.26% African American, 0.92% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. 2.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 692 households, out of which 19.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.9% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 63.3% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.69.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 13.5% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 55.6% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 1.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 124.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 131.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $49,118. Males had a median income of $27,386 versus $23,073 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,789. 11.4% of the population and 2.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 3.5% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Arts and culture

Festivals

Crested Butte hosts a number of festivals and parades throughout the year. These include Torchlight, New Years, Winter Carnival, Butte Bash College Ski Week and Mardi Gras during the winter months; Extreme Board Fest, Slushuck and Flauschink during spring; the Crested Butte Bike Week, Crested Butte Music Festival, Crested Butte International Film Festival, 4th of July, the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, Alpenglow Concert Series, Festival of the Arts and Ball Bash during summer; and Fall Fest, Vinotok and Paragon Peoples' Fair during fall.

Parks and recreation

The town of Crested Butte has a Nordic Center which has an ice skating rink as well as cross-country skiing trails. The town also has several parks, including Rainbow Park in the western section of town. Several hiking trails also exist, managed by the Crested Butte Land Trust.

The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame was located in Crested Butte before moving in 2014 to Fairfax, California.

Media

Movies filmed in Crested Butte include Snowball Express (1972), Snowbeast (1977), The Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family (1978), and Ink (2009), Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).

Infrastructure

Crested Butte is served by the Gunnison–Crested Butte Regional Airport in Gunnison. The town runs a free bus service connecting the town of Crested Butte with the ski resort located northeast of town. Additionally, buses connect the town to Gunnison. The town government is currently pursuing a transit and infrastructure strategy to "de-emphasize cars and focusing on walking, biking, rolling and transit".

Since the 1970s, several companies have attempted to mine molybdenum on Mount Emmons (called the "Red Lady") near Crested Butte. In 1977 W Mitchell was elected mayor of Crested Butte and led a campaign which stopped AMAX (now Freeport-McMoRan) from building a billion-dollar molybdenum mine on Mount Emmons. Because of his battle against the anticipated environmental impact, Mitchell is known as the man who "saved a mountain". The same year, 1977, saw the formation of the High Country Citizens' Alliance (HCCA), an environmental organization dedicated to protecting natural resources within the Upper Gunnison River Valley.

Currently the rights for Mount Emmons molybdenum are owned by U.S. Energy Corp. On April 25, 2011, Thomson Creek Metals announced that it had terminated its option agreement with U.S. Energy Corp. to acquire an interest in the Mount Emmons molybdenum project. Although US Energy continued to maintain its commitment to moving the project forward on its own behalf, the withdrawal of Thomson Creek Metals was heralded as a major victory in the town of Crested Butte in its battle against the proposed molybdenum mine.

References

External links

State of Colorado
History Colorado
Town of Crested Butte website