The Town of Fraser is a Statutory Town located in Grand County, Colorado, United States. A post office called Fraser has been in operation since 1876. The town derives its name from Reuben Frazer, a pioneer settler.

Geography

Fraser is located in southeastern Grand County. It is bordered to the south by the town of Winter Park and to the north by unincorporated Tabernash. U.S. Route 40 leads south and east across Berthoud Pass to Denver, and northwest to Granby, the largest town in Grand County.

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of including of water.

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Fraser has a subarctic climate, abbreviated Dfc on climate maps or Eolo in the Trewartha climate classification. The hottest temperature recorded in Fraser is on July 10, 1939, and the coldest on January 10, 1962. The wettest calendar year has been 1957 with and the driest 1944 with , whilst the most precipitation in one month has been in September 1961. Snowfall is naturally heavy at and has ranged up to in February 1936 and from July 1926 to June 1927.

A freeze has been recorded for every single date of the year, one of the only locations in the entire United States to hold that record.

| source 2 = National Weather Service

| source =

Icebox of the Nation

thumb|Downtown Fraser, Colorado, April 2005

Fraser, Colorado has been in a dispute with International Falls, Minnesota since 1956 over use of the trademark "Icebox of the Nation." After several years of legal battles, the United States Patent and Trademark Office officially registered the slogan with International Falls on January 29, 2008.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Fraser had a population of 1,400. The median age was 35.9 years. 13.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 10.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 124.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 126.8 males age 18 and over.

99.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.9% lived in rural areas.

There were 632 households in Fraser, of which 18.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 34.8% were married-couple households, 31.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2000, there were 910 people, 410 households, and 191 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 622 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.51% White, 0.88% African American, 0.88% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.30% of the population.

There were 410 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.2% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.2% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.2% 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 2.71.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 17.9% under the age of 18, 14.2% from 18 to 24, 46.2% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 3.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 129.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $38,173, and the median income for a family was $39,643. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $26,346 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,628. About 11.1% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

thumb|Fraser Town Hall

Transportation

Amtrak provides regular service to Fraser and nearby Winter Park (station code: WIP), operating its California Zephyr daily in each direction between Chicago, Illinois and Emeryville, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2015, Amtrak also resumed seasonal ski train service to the Winter Park Resort, and in 2025 they added a stop in Fraser. The new Winter Park Express resumed ski train service that had been provided to the resort by Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad's Ski Train for nearly 70 years.

The Lift Winter Park Transit provides year round bus service in The Town of Fraser with fixed route, paratransit, and commuter services. The Lift offers in town service and connections to Winter Park, CO, Winter Park Resort, and Granby, CO.

Bustang Outrider is a state regional bus service providing twice daily service to Fraser on the Craig-Denver line. The Morning run provides eastbound service to Idaho Springs, CO and Denver, CO. The afternoon/evening run provides westbound service to Steamboat Springs, CO, Craig, CO, and other intermediate stops.

Other transportation options include Home James Transportation and Grand Mountain Rides which have provided shared shuttle and private charter transportation since 198

Notable people

  • Susan Anderson, physician known as "Doc Susie"
  • Carlota D. EspinoZa

See also

  • Byers Peak
  • Arapaho National Forest
  • Saint Louis Creek

References

  • Town of Fraser website
  • History of Fraser