New Castle, Colorado

The Town of New Castle is a home rule municipality in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 4,923 at the 2020 census.^[5]

New Castle, Colorado
Town
Main Street, looking towards the Grand Hogback
Motto:  "Authentically Colorado"
Location of New Castle in Garfield County, Colorado.
Coordinates: 39°34′20″N 107°32′6″W
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Garfield County[1]
Incorporated (town)	March 27, 1890[2]
Government
• Type	Home rule municipality[1]
Area [3]
• Total	2.61 sq mi (6.75 km2)
• Land	2.52 sq mi (6.52 km2)
• Water	0.09 sq mi (0.23 km2)
Elevation [4]	5,811 ft (1,771 m)
Population  (2020)[5]
• Total	4,923
• Density	1,900/sq mi (730/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code[6]	81647
Area code	970
FIPS code	08-53395
GNIS feature ID	2413042[4]
Website	www.newcastlecolorado.org

History

When New Castle was incorporated in 1888, its economy was largely based on mining coal that was needed by the silver-mining industry to fire silver smelters. On February 18, 1896, a methane explosion in the Vulcan Mine killed 49 men and started a coal fire that was still burning as of 2020. The Vulcan reopened and suffered additional explosions on December 12, 1913 (killing 37) and November 4, 1918 (killing 3).^[7]

There are at least 25 coal fires burning near the town.^[8] They are normally confined underground.

From 2000 - 2014 the population grew 129%, much higher than the average growth in Colorado over the same period (20.8%).^[9]

Geography

New Castle is located on the north side of the Colorado River, just east of where the river cuts through the Grand Hogback. Interstate 70 passes by the town following the river, with access from Exit 105. I-70 leads east 12 miles (19 km) to Glenwood Springs, the county seat, east 169 miles (272 km) to Denver, and west 74 miles (119 km) to Grand Junction. U.S. Route 6 is Main Street in New Castle and forms a parallel route to I-70 for local traffic. US-6 joins I-70 5 miles (8 km) to the east at Chacra and 17 miles (27 km) to the west at a point west of Rifle.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.7 square miles (7.0 km²), of which 2.7 square miles (6.9 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²), or 1.21%, is water.^[10]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	311		—
1900	431		38.6%
1910	493		14.4%
1920	447		−9.3%
1930	470		5.1%
1940	484		3.0%
1950	483		−0.2%
1960	447		−7.5%
1970	499		11.6%
1980	563		12.8%
1990	679		20.6%
2000	1,984		192.2%
2010	4,518		127.7%
2020	4,923		9.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

Education

New Castle is within Garfield Re-2 School District.^[11] The town is home to two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school:

• Elk Creek Elementary School
• Kathryn Senor Elementary School
• Riverside Middle School
• Coal Ridge High School

See also

• Colorado portal

• List of municipalities in Colorado