Wellington is a

statutory town A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...

in Larimer County,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, United States. The population was 11,047 at the 2020 census.

Geography

Wellington is located at (40.702324, -105.005497). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the town has a total area of , all of it land. Wellington is

I-25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

's northernmost Colorado town.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 2,672 people, 932 households, and 693 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 963 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 87.39%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.26%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.05% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.07%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 8.23% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.32% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 12.13% of the population. There were 932 households, out of which 46.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 17.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.27. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 38.2% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 5.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $47,917, and the median income for a family was $48,214. Males had a median income of $34,107 versus $25,991 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $17,783. About 5.1% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over. As of 2013, 6,725 people live in Wellington.

Law and government

Wellington is a statutory town regulated by the state statutes listed in the Colorado Revised Statutes. The board of trustees may approve ordinances that pertain to local issues. The legislative authority of the town shall be vested in a board of trustees, consisting of 1 mayor and 6 trustees. The members of the board of trustees are elected for 4-year terms and are elected at large. The mayor is elected separately.

History

Founded in 1902, incorporated in 1905, and named for C. L. Wellington (an employee of the

Colorado and Southern Railroad The Colorado and Southern Railway was an American Class I railroad in the western United States that operated independently from 1898 to 1908, then as part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until it was absorbed into the Burling ...

). U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Byron White Byron "Whizzer" Raymond White (June 8, 1917 April 15, 2002) was an American professional football player and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1962 until his retirement in 1993. Born and raised in Colo ...

lived in Wellington as a child. He made a point of returning to Wellington on an annual basis for his high school reunions up until 1999 when his physical health worsened significantly. In the early 20th century, especially during the years of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

, Wellington doubled as a place to drink and a service town for drivers commuting from

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and vice versa. The town, more or less, sustained a population of 500 throughout the century which proceeded to build homes, restaurants, churches, and various other elements of small-town life. In 2000,

woolly mammoth The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with '' Mammuthus s ...

remains were discovered by a construction crew while digging home foundations. Colorado State University sent a team to carefully excavate and preserve the bones of the extinct animals; Wellington residents watched attentively. Unfortunately, upon hoisting the remains out of the excavation site the tusks crumbled inside of the protective forms that were previously built around them. Rear molars and parts of the skull of the mammoth are housed at CSU after being donated by the Burrus family (the developers of the project), who also kept molars of the animal. The subdivision where the bones were found named one of its streets in remembrance of the excitement. Though population remained steady throughout the 20th century, Wellington experienced moderate growth in the 1990s and 2000s, rendering it a sort of

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for the city of

, which lies 10 miles to the South.

Culture

The town hosts an annual

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

celebration which usually comprises a pancake breakfast, a parade, a subsequent car show, live music in the park, and fireworks at dusk. Some residents enjoy biking around the vast spaces north of the town; at night, avid stargazers bring their telescopes to marvel at the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. ...

. The town's welcome signs call Wellington "a great place to grow." Recently, Wellington held a competition to determine Wellington's 'brand'. Wellington's new brand was determined to be "Colorado's Northern Gateway", signifying that Wellington is the last major town headed north along I-25 towards Wyoming, and the first headed south towards Fort Collins.

Education

Wellington is home to three schools: Rice Elementary, Eyestone Elementary and Wellington Middle-High School, all part of Poudre School District. The former Wellington Middle School was honored with many national and state awards including: * National "School to Watch", 2012–2015 *

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...

National Green Ribbon School * A.V.I.D International Demonstration School, 2013–2016 * Colorado Environmental Leadership Bronze Medal Award Winner, 2012 * National Yearbook Program of the Year, 2012, 2013

References

External links

Town of Wellington websiteCDOT map of the Town of Wellington
{{authority control Towns in Larimer County, Colorado Towns in Colorado 1902 establishments in Colorado