Hotchkiss, Colorado

Hotchkiss is a statutory town in Delta County, Colorado, United States. The population was 875 at the 2020 census.^[5]

Hotchkiss, Colorado
Statutory Town
East Bridge Street in Hotchkiss, looking towards Mt. Lamborn
Motto:  "Friendliest Town Around"
Location of Hotchkiss in Delta County, Colorado.
Coordinates: 38°47′56″N 107°42′48″W
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County[1]	Delta
Incorporated (town)	March 14, 1901[2]
Government
• Type	Statutory Town[1]
• State Representative	Marc Catlin
Area [3]
• Total	0.93 sq mi (2.40 km2)
• Land	0.93 sq mi (2.40 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation [4]	5,332 ft (1,625 m)
Population  (2020)[5]
• Total	875
• Density	940/sq mi (360/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code[6]	81419
Area code	970
FIPS code	08-37545
GNIS feature ID	2412771[4]
Website	townofhotchkiss.com

A post office called Hotchkiss has been in operation since 1882.^[7] The town is named after Enos T. Hotchkiss, a local pioneer.^[8]

Geography

Hotchkiss is located in eastern Delta County on the north side of the North Fork Gunnison River.

Colorado State Highway 92 passes through the center of town as Bridge Street, leading west 20 miles (32 km) to Delta, the county seat, and southeast 52 miles (84 km) to U.S. Route 50 at Blue Mesa Reservoir. Colorado State Highway 133 starts at the east end of town and leads northeast 66 miles (106 km) over McClure Pass to Carbondale.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Hotchkiss has a total area of 0.93 square miles (2.4 km²), all of it land.^[9]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	261		—
1910	600		129.9%
1920	572		−4.7%
1930	541		−5.4%
1940	653		20.7%
1950	715		9.5%
1960	626		−12.4%
1970	507		−19.0%
1980	849		67.5%
1990	744		−12.4%
2000	968		30.1%
2010	944		−2.5%
2020	875		−7.3%

Schools

The Delta County School District Board of Education decided in February 2021 to close separate high schools in Hotchkiss and Paonia, Colorado and build a joint high school, North Fork High School, located in Hotchkiss. Both schools have been losing students as coal mines in the area have closed. Kindergarten to 8th grade education will continue in both communities.^[10]

See also

• Colorado portal

• Colorado municipalities
• Delta County, Colorado

References

1. "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
2. "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
3. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
4. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Hotchkiss, Colorado
5. United States Census Bureau. "Hotchkiss town, Colorado". Retrieved April 7, 2023.
6. "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on November 4, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
7. "Post offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
8. Dawson, John Frank. Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 27.
9. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Hotchkiss town, Colorado". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved October 15, 2015.^{[dead link]}
10. Nathan Deal (February 27, 2021). "Hotchkiss, Paonia high schools to merge". Grand Junction Sentinel. Retrieved May 16, 2021. "We're going to have a kindergarten-eighth grade school in Paonia, a kindergarten-eighth grade school in Hotchkiss, and then there will be one high school in Hotchkiss next year."

External links

• Town of Hotchkiss official website
• The Delta County Independent, local community weekly covering Hotchkiss and the rest of Delta County
• CDOT map of the Town of Hotchkiss