Longmont, Colorado
Home rule municipality[1]
The Longmont Safety and Justice Center
The Longmont Safety and Justice Center
Flag of Longmont, Colorado
Flag
Location of the City of Longmont in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado
Location of the City of Longmont in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado
Longmont is located in the United States
Longmont
Longmont
Location of the City of Longmont in the United States
Coordinates: 40°10′18″N 105°6′33″W / 40.17167°N 105.10917°W / 40.17167; -105.10917
Country United States
State Colorado
Counties[2]Boulder County
Weld County
City[1]Longmont
Founded1871
IncorporatedNovember 15, 1885[3]
Named forStephen Harriman Long and Longs Peak
Government
 • TypeHome rule municipality[1]
 • MayorJoan Peck[4] (List)
Area
[5]
 • Total30.40 sq mi (78.74 km2)
 • Land28.76 sq mi (74.49 km2)
 • Water1.64 sq mi (4.26 km2)
Elevation
[6]
4,984 ft (1,519 m)
Population
 (2020)[7]
 • Total98,885
 • Density3,381.70/sq mi (1,305.70/km2)
Time zoneUTC−7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)
ZIP Codes[8]
80501–80504
Area code(s)303/720
FIPS code08-45970
GNIS feature ID0202560
Websitewww.longmontcolorado.gov

Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Its population was 98,885 as of the 2020 U.S. Census.[9] Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder. Longmont is named after Longs Peak, a prominent mountain named for explorer Stephen H. Long that is clearly visible from Longmont, and "mont", from the French word "montagne" for mountain.[10]

History

Longmont was founded in 1871 by a group of people from Chicago, Illinois. Originally called the Chicago-Colorado Colony, led by president Robert Collyer, the men sold memberships in the town, purchasing the land necessary for the town hall with the proceeds. As the first planned community in Boulder County, the city streets were laid out in a grid plan within a square mile. The city began to flourish as an agricultural community after the Colorado Central Railroad line arrived northward from Boulder in 1877. During the 1940s, Longmont began to grow beyond these original limits.

In 1925, the Ku Klux Klan gained control of Longmont 's City Council in an election. They began construction of a large pork-barrel project, Chimney Rock Dam, above Lyons and marched up and down Main Street in their costumes. In the 1927 election they were voted out of office, and their influence soon declined. Work on Chimney Rock Dam was abandoned as unfeasible, and its foundations are still visible in the St. Vrain River.[11][12]

In 1955, United Airlines Flight 629 exploded over Longmont, killing 44 passengers and crew.[13]

During the 1960s, the federal government built the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center in Longmont, and IBM built a manufacturing and development campus near Longmont. As agriculture waned, more high technology has come to the city, including companies like Seagate and Amgen; Amgen closed its Longmont campus in 2015. In April 2009, the GE Energy Company relocated its control solutions business to the area.

The downtown along Main Street, once nearly dead during the 1980s, has seen a vibrant revival in the 1990s and into the 21st century. During the mid-1990s, the southern edge of Longmont became the location of the first New Urbanist project in Colorado, called Prospect New Town, designed by the architects Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk.

Longmont was the site of Colorado's first library, founded in 1871 by Elizabeth Rowell Thompson, though it lasted up to a year before its collection of 300 books was lost. Following this, Longmont also was the site of one of Carnegie's libraries with the single-story structure being opened in 1913. It remained open until August 7, 1972 when, due to overcrowding with approximately 22,000 books within the space, it was closed just a week before the new library that had been constructed next door was opened.[14]

In May 2013, the Longmont City Council voted to finance and build out its own municipal gigabit data fiber-optic network, known as NextLight, to every house and business over a three-year period starting in late 2013.

Further information on Longmont's history, see The Official City of Longmont History and the Longmont Museum & Cultural Center.

Geography

Longmont is located in northeastern Boulder County at 40°10′18″N 105°06′33″W / 40.171583°N 105.109085°W / 40.171583; -105.109085.[15] The city extends eastward into western Weld County. U.S. Highway 287 (Main Street) runs through the center of the city, leading north 16 miles (26 km) to Loveland and south 34 miles (55 km) to downtown Denver. State Highway 119 passes through the city south of downtown and leads southwest 15 miles (24 km) to Boulder and east 5 miles (8 km) to Interstate 25.

The elevation at City Hall is 4,978 feet (1,517 m) above sea level. St. Vrain Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River, flows through the city just south of the city center.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Longmont has a total area of 27.6 square miles (71.6 km2), of which 26.2 square miles (67.8 km2) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.8 km2), or 5.30%, is water.[16]

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Longmont has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated Bsk on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Longmont was 106 °F (41 °C) on July 7, 1973, and June 27, 1994, while the coldest temperature recorded was −38 °F (−39 °C) on January 16, 1930.[17]

Climate data for Longmont, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 75
(24)		 79
(26)		 85
(29)		 91
(33)		 100
(38)		 106
(41)		 106
(41)		 104
(40)		 101
(38)		 92
(33)		 83
(28)		 78
(26)		 106
(41)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 63.4
(17.4)		 67.0
(19.4)		 74.8
(23.8)		 81.8
(27.7)		 89.2
(31.8)		 97.2
(36.2)		 100.6
(38.1)		 97.8
(36.6)		 94.0
(34.4)		 84.2
(29.0)		 72.2
(22.3)		 64.3
(17.9)		 101.4
(38.6)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 44.5
(6.9)		 46.8
(8.2)		 56.8
(13.8)		 63.2
(17.3)		 72.7
(22.6)		 83.9
(28.8)		 90.8
(32.7)		 87.8
(31.0)		 80.3
(26.8)		 66.2
(19.0)		 53.5
(11.9)		 44.8
(7.1)		 65.9
(18.8)
Daily mean °F (°C) 29.4
(−1.4)		 32.0
(0.0)		 41.5
(5.3)		 47.8
(8.8)		 57.1
(13.9)		 67.2
(19.6)		 73.1
(22.8)		 70.8
(21.6)		 63.0
(17.2)		 49.5
(9.7)		 38.5
(3.6)		 29.6
(−1.3)		 50.0
(10.0)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 14.4
(−9.8)		 17.1
(−8.3)		 26.1
(−3.3)		 32.3
(0.2)		 41.4
(5.2)		 50.5
(10.3)		 55.4
(13.0)		 53.7
(12.1)		 45.8
(7.7)		 32.9
(0.5)		 23.5
(−4.7)		 14.5
(−9.7)		 34.0
(1.1)
Mean minimum °F (°C) −8.7
(−22.6)		 −3.5
(−19.7)		 6.2
(−14.3)		 17.0
(−8.3)		 30.3
(−0.9)		 40.5
(4.7)		 48.3
(9.1)		 46.3
(7.9)		 30.1
(−1.1)		 18.6
(−7.4)		 3.1
(−16.1)		 −7.7
(−22.1)		 −15.9
(−26.6)
Record low °F (°C) −38
(−39)		 −36
(−38)		 −26
(−32)		 −7
(−22)		 18
(−8)		 29
(−2)		 38
(3)		 37
(3)		 18
(−8)		 −5
(−21)		 −16
(−27)		 −32
(−36)		 −38
(−39)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.56
(14)		 0.57
(14)		 1.17
(30)		 2.04
(52)		 1.97
(50)		 1.75
(44)		 1.69
(43)		 1.95
(50)		 1.26
(32)		 1.04
(26)		 0.75
(19)		 0.46
(12)		 15.21
(386)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 5.8
(15)		 3.8
(9.7)		 5.6
(14)		 3.1
(7.9)		 0.2
(0.51)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.3
(0.76)		 1.1
(2.8)		 6.1
(15)		 6.2
(16)		 32.2
(81.67)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 3.7 4.5 5.1 7.5 10.1 8.3 6.1 7.4 6.3 5.4 4.9 3.0 72.3
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 2.0 2.4 2.2 1.5 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 2.2 2.2 13.4
Source 1: National Weather Service (mean maxima and minima 1971–2000)[17]
Source 2: NOAA (average snowfall/snowy days 1981–2010)[18][19]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1880773—
18901,54399.6%
19002,20142.6%
19104,25693.4%
19205,84837.4%
19306,0293.1%
19407,40622.8%
19508,0999.4%
196011,48941.9%
197023,209102.0%
198042,94285.0%
199051,55520.1%
200071,09337.9%
201086,27021.3%
202098,88514.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census[20] of 2010, there were 86,270 people living in the city (2019 estimate: 97,261). The population density was 3,294 inhabitants per square mile (1,272/km2). There were 35,008 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was:

There were 33,551 households, of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 20, 6.3% from 20 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years.

The median income for a household in the city was $58,698, and the median income for a family was $70,864. Males had a median income of $51,993 versus $41,025 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,209. About 11.1% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

In 2011 Longmont was rated the second safest city in Colorado.[21]

Education

Longmont is home to the Boulder County Campus of Front Range Community College, the St. Vrain Valley School District, and to a number of private schools. Longmont is also home to the Master Instructor Continuing Education Program (MICEP) a voluntary accreditation program for aviation educators.

There is also a municipal public library. As of 2019 there was deliberation over whether to establish a library district and to have the library publish news. That year the library's director stated, in the words of Corey Hutchins of the Columbia Journalism Review, "lacks resources and hasn’t kept up with the city’s growth".[22]

Transportation

The Longmont Fire Department Station 1 is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Longmont Public Library
Reservoir west of Longmont
Longmont Performing Arts Center
Former St. Stephen's Church (1881) now houses the St. Vrain Historical Society in Longmont.

Longmont is part of the RTD transit district that provides local and regional bus service to Denver and Boulder.

Outside of RTD, Longmont is connected to Fort Collins, Loveland, and Berthoud via a FLEX regional bus service.

In 2012, Longmont was recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a silver-level bicycle-friendly community. Longmont is one of 38 communities in the United States to be recognized with this distinction. It is the only city in Colorado placed at the silver level that is not a major tourist center or a university city.[23]

Vance Brand Airport is a public-use airport owned by the city. It currently has no scheduled passenger flights, but it is popular for general aviation.[24]

Media

The Longmont Leader (formerly the Longmont Observer)[25] is the local daily newspaper.

The Longmont Times-Call, while bearing the city's name, is published from Boulder and is operated by Alden Global Capital of New York City.[26]

Longmont's radio stations include KRCN, KGUD, and KKFN. Sports radio is broadcast on KKSE-FM from a tower about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Longmont. Also located nearby is KDFD, a Fox News Radio affiliate with a conservative talk format. The KDFD (760 AM) transmitter site is about 15 miles (24 km) east of Boulder.

NPR programming can be heard on Colorado Public Radio stations KCFR from Denver, and KCFC (AM) in Boulder. The NPR affiliate KUNC from the Fort Collins-Greeley market can also be heard in Longmont.

Longmont is also served by Pacifica Radio affiliate KGNU, a non-commercial community radio station from Boulder.

Economy

Downtown Longmont is home to many local businesses.
Parker McDonald's "Ursa Major" is part of the City of Longmont's Art in Public Places program.

According to the City's 2020 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,[27] the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 St. Vrain Valley Schools 3,543
2 City of Longmont 1,625
3 Seagate Technology 1,430
4 Intrado 755
5 Longmont United Hospital 671
6 UC Health Longs Peak Hospital 540
7 McLane Western 460
8 Federal Aviation Administration 422
9 Circle Graphics 400
10 AveXis 354

In addition, Longmont supports a thriving craft brewing industry as well as many recreational and travel-related businesses. Local breweries include two of the nation's largest craft brewers,[28] Left Hand and Oskar Blues, as well as many others. To service the transportation needs of brewery patrons, the local Brew Hop Trolley offers a hop-on-hop-off brewery tour for a fixed price. Longmont is known for its 'maker' community.[29] Longmont also features a Saturday Farmers Market.

Due to its proximity to the Rocky Mountain National Park, Longmont is home to many hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that cater in part to the tourists visiting the park each year. One recreational business that calls Longmont home is Mile Hi Skydiving, which is one of the largest skydiving facilities in the state of Colorado. Longmont is also home to Saul, the World's Largest Sticker Ball at StickerGiant,[30] a custom sticker and label printing company on the city's east side. Other businesses support skiing and other snowsports, bicycling, and rock climbing.

Government

This is a list of mayors of Longmont.[31]

MayorTerm
L. H. Dickson1881–1885
George T. Dell1885–1887
Charles H. Baker1887–1888
John B. Thompson1888–1889
Ira L. Herron1889–1890
Frank Stickney1890–1892
John A. Buckley1892–1894
Neil C. Sullivan1894–1896
George W. Coffin1896–1897
Willis A. Warner1897–1898
Frank M. Downer1898–1899
Frank M. Miller1899–1901
John A. Donovan1901–1903
Samuel C. Morgan1903–1905
Charles A. Bradley1905–1909
Frank P. Secor1909–1911
Rae H. Kiteley1911–1921
James F. Hays1921–1927
Fred W. Flanders1927–1929
Earl T. Ludlow1929–1931
Ray Lanyon1931–1943
Fred C. Ferguson1943–1947
George A. Richart1947–1949
Otto F. Vliet1949–1957
Richard C. Troxell1957–1959
Albert Will1959–1961
Ralph R. Price1961–1969
Alexander Zlaten1969–1971 Pro Tem
Wade Gaddis1971–1973 Pro Tem
Austin P. Stonebreaker1973–1974
Alvin G. Perenyi1975–1977
George F. Chandler1977 Pro Tem
E. George Patterson Jr.1977–1979
Robert J. Askey1979–1981
William G. Swenson1981–1985
Larry Burkhardt1985–1987
Alvin E. Sweney1987–1989
Fred Wilson1989–1993
Leona Stoecker1993–2001
Julia Pirnack2001–2007
Roger Lange2007–2009
Bryan L. Baum2009–2011
Dennis L. Coombs2011–2017
Brian Bagley2017–2021
Joan Peck2021–Present[4]

Fire department

The Longmont Fire Department was established in its current form in 1908. The history of the department can be traced back to the creation of the W. A. Buckingham Hook & Ladder Company in 1879.[32]

As of 2020 the department operates from six stations throughout the city. Longmont Fire Department Station 1 was built in 1907, used by the department until 1971, and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[33]

Notable people

Sister cities

Longmont has established a sister city relationship with:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Local Government. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Colorado Counties". State of Colorado, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Local Government. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
  4. 1 2 Mehl, Annie (November 9, 2021). "Longmont mayor, council members take oaths of office". Longmont Times-Call. Longmont, CO. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  5. ↑ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  6. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  8. ↑ "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on November 4, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2007.
  9. ↑ "Longmont city, Colorado Population". Census.gov. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  10. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 190.
  11. ↑ "Ku Klux Klan Controlled Longmont in 1920's". Longmont Daily Times-Call. April 10, 1971. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2023 – via The Boulder County Latino History Project.
  12. ↑ Runyon, Luke (January 2, 2019). "What Happened When The Colorado KKK Tried To Build A Dam". KUNC. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Jack Gilbert Graham". FBI. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Longmont Carnegie Library". Colorado Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Staff. July 5, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  15. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Longmont city, Colorado". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  17. 1 2 "NOAA Online Weather Data". National Weather Service. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  18. ↑ "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access (1991–2020)". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  19. ↑ "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access (1981–2010)". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  20. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Crime rankings publication calls Longmont Colorado's second safest city". December 25, 2011.
  22. ↑ Hutchins, Corey (May 10, 2019). "Should a Colorado library publish local news?". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  23. ↑ Wegrzyn, Magdalena (May 14, 2012). "Longmont More Bike-Friendly Than Ever". Longmont Times Call Newspaper. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Vance Brand Municipal Airport". Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Welcome to the Longmont Leader". Longmont Leader. May 25, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Longmont Daily Times-Call". Longmont Times-Call. February 10, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  27. ↑ "City of Longmont 2020 ACFR".
  28. ↑ "Top 50 Breweries of 2016". Brewers Association. March 15, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Local Makers". Visit Longmont, Colorado. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Longmont favorite son Saul the sticker ball sets Guinness World Record". Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Mayors of Longmont since 1881". City of Longmont. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Longmont Fire Department". 5280fire.com. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  33. ↑ Sculle, Keith A. (July 1989). "The National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Preservation Possibilities National Park Service Frederick: A Historic Preservation Commission at Work National Park Service". The Public Historian. 11 (3): 92–94. doi:10.2307/3378617. ISSN 0272-3433. JSTOR 3378617.
  34. ↑ Noe, Alissa (August 2, 2021). "Silver Creek grad Valarie Allman wins the gold in women's discus". Longmont Times-Call. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Looking back at Colorado's best". Denver Post. November 30, 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  36. ↑ "Longmont's David Bote slamming way into bigger role with Cubs". Daily camera. August 14, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  37. ↑ "Vance D. Brand". NASA. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  38. ↑ Kuta, Sarah (April 20, 2015). "Elizabeth Fenn, CU-Boulder prof and Longmont resident, wins Pulitzer Prize for history". Longmont Times-Call. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  39. ↑ "KELSO, John Russell". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  40. ↑ "Longmont's Lostroh wins first PBR world title". Daily Camera. Associated Press. November 9, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Introducing The MMM World Headquarters Building". Mr. Money Mustache. August 2, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  42. ↑ "David Pauley Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  43. ↑ Biography for Jack Reynor at IMDb
  44. ↑ "The kooky monster". The Age. March 23, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  45. ↑ Evans, Clay (February 7, 2007). "Myth and madness in the frozen north". Boulder Daily Camera. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  46. ↑ Arritt, Dan (December 27, 2004). "Life's Twists Turn for Soldati at 30". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  47. ↑ Collins, Dorothy Stone. From Sawdust to Stardust: A Story of Fred Stone. OCLC 49725781. Retrieved December 2, 2023. (Dorothy Collins is the daughter of Fred Stone)
  48. ↑ "Longmont Presbyterian College". City of Longmont. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  49. ↑ Crum, Lindsey (November 21, 2017). "A Career Worthy of Canton". UNC Magazine. University of Northern Colorado. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
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