Loma, Colorado

Loma is an unincorporated town, post office, and census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Mesa County, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Loma post office has the ZIP Code 81524.

History

The name "Loma" is derived from a Spanish word meaning "small hill".

The area was first inhabited by the Ute people, who had left by 1881.

In 1882, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad completed a narrow-gauge railroad through Loma. A standard-gauge track was installed in 1890.

Homesteaders began arriving in Loma in the late 1880s.

In 1901, the Colorado Sugar Company opened of land near Loma to settlers. Sugar beets were a primary crop, and beet production dominated Loma's agriculture until the 1970s, when the Delta Sugar Beet factory closed.

In 1910, the church now known as Loma Community Church was built. It has often been referred to as "The Church That Stayed". Virginia Donoho produced a 15,000 word history of the church by that same name in the early 1980s. In 1965 the building added indoor plumbing, a fellowship hall, a kitchen, and two bathrooms. In the late 1970s a small addition was built.

Verner Zevola Reed, known as "The Colorado Millionaire"", opened the Golden Hills ranch on of land he had purchased north of Loma in 1907. Reed intended on growing apples, and installed an underground irrigation system to water his orchards. In 1911, the Loma Canning and Preserving Company opened a canning factory in Loma to process the anticipated harvests. The endeavor was not a success, and the factory closed a few years later without ever reaching its capacity. Reed sold the Golden Hills Ranch in 1923.

A second irrigation canal called the Highline Canal was built through Loma in 1917, and led to significant economic growth and several bumper crops during the 1920s. In 1938, the Loma Community Hall was erected, and was used for community meetings and social events. The hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

A uranium mine and mill were built near Loma in the 1940s. Small settlements such as Loma with uranium mines were called "yellowcake towns" because the uranium oxide they produced resembled cake mix.

In the 1950s, a pipeline was constructed along an abandoned Uintah Railway track to carry a mixture of crushed gilsonite ore and water from Bonanza, Utah, to Loma. The American Gilsonite Company owned the slurry line and built a plant in Loma, where the gilsonite was refined into gasoline, "gilsapave" paving tar, and briquettes used for aluminum refining. The plant was later purchased by Gary Refining.

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

There were 486 households in Loma, of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 69.3% were married-couple households, 11.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 15.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The trailhead of the Kokopelli Trail, a recreation trail, is located southwest of Loma. The trail passes through the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area south of Loma.

Education

Education is provided by the Mesa County Valley School District 51.

Loma Elementary School is located in Loma. Its mascot is the lion, and school colors are green and white. After elementary school, Loma students attend Fruita Middle School and Fruita Monument High School in Fruita.

Media

KCDC radio station is located in Loma.

Infrastructure

Law Enforcement is provided by the Mesa County Sheriff and the Colorado State Patrol. Fire protection is provided by the Lower Valley Volunteer Fire District, which has a station in Loma.

Eunice Parsons, artist

References

External links

Loma @ UncoverColorado.com
Mesa County website