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Ouray County
Ouray County
County
	Ouray County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of Colorado
	Colorado's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 38°10′N 107°46′W / 38.16°N 107.77°W
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Founded	January 18, 1877
Named for	Chief Ouray
Seat	Ouray
Largest city	Ridgway
Area
• Total	542 sq mi (1,400 km2)
• Land	542 sq mi (1,400 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (2 km2) 0.1%
Population
• Estimate (2022)	5,100
• Density	9.0/sq mi (3.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.ouraycountyco.gov

Ouray County (/ˈjʊəreɪ/) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 4,874.^[1] The county seat is Ouray.^[2] Because of its rugged mountain topography, Ouray County is also known as the "Switzerland of America".^{[citation needed]}

History

Ouray County was formed out of San Juan County on January 18, 1877, making Ouray County the first county designated by the newly-formed Colorado General Assembly. It was named for Chief Ouray, a distinguished leader of the Ute tribe, as was the municipality of Ouray, which was designated its county seat on March 8, 1877. On February 19, 1881, Dolores County was formed out of parts of Ouray County.

On February 27, 1883, Ouray County was split into San Miguel County and what is currently Ouray County. The portion that became San Miguel County almost retained the name Ouray County when the Colorado General Assembly initially renamed today's Ouray County as Uncompahgre County,^[3] but four days later, on March 2, 1883, the General Assembly changed its mind and reverted the name of Uncompahgre County back to Ouray County.^[4]

The Ouray County Courthouse was constructed in Ouray in 1888 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Mining operators in the San Juan Mountains area of Colorado formed the San Juan District Mining Association (SJDMA) in 1903, as a direct result of a Western Federation of Miners proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight-hour day, which had been approved in a referendum by 72 percent of Colorado voters.^[5] The new association consolidated the power of 36 mining properties in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan counties.^[6] The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 542 square miles (1,400 km²), of which 542 square miles (1,400 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[7] The highest point in Ouray County is Mount Sneffels, at 14,150 feet above sea level. Many high peaks of more than 13,300 feet also exist. Other prominent features in Ouray County include Log Hill Mesa and Pleasant Valley.

Adjacent counties

Montrose County - north
Gunnison County - northeast
Hinsdale County - southeast
San Juan County - south
San Miguel County - southwest

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	2,669		—
1890	6,510		143.9%
1900	4,731		−27.3%
1910	3,514		−25.7%
1920	2,620		−25.4%
1930	1,784		−31.9%
1940	2,089		17.1%
1950	2,103		0.7%
1960	1,601		−23.9%
1970	1,546		−3.4%
1980	1,925		24.5%
1990	2,295		19.2%
2000	3,742		63.1%
2010	4,436		18.5%
2020	4,874		9.9%
2023 (est.)	5,176	^[8]	6.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[9] 1790-1960^[10] 1900-1990^[11] 1990-2000^[12] 2010-2020^[1]

As of the 2000 Census,^[13] there were 3,742 people, 1,576 households, and 1,123 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile (2.7 people/km²). There were 2,146 housing units at an average density of 4 units per square mile (1.5 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.34% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 0.94% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 4.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,576 households, out of which 28.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.40% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.50% under the age of 18, 4.10% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 34.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 102.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,019, and the median income for a family was $49,776. Males had a median income of $35,141 versus $26,176 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,335. About 6.00% of families and 7.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.00% of those under age 18 and 2.90% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In the first three elections that it participated in, from 1880 until 1888, Ouray County voted for Republican presidential candidates, before voting for Populist James B. Weaver in 1892, and then for the Democrats from 1896 to 1908. Then, from 1912 until 1944, Ouray County was a swing county that voted for the winner of each election from Woodrow Wilson's 1912 victory to Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1940 victory; however, it broke that streak when it went for Thomas E. Dewey in 1944. Between 1944 and 2004, it transformed into a Republican stronghold, with Lyndon B. Johnson being the only Democrat to win the county in his 1964 landslide, with Republicans frequently getting 50-60% of the vote, even reaching more than 70% in Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan's 49-state landslides in 1972 and 1984. In fact, Nixon and Reagan are the only candidates in history to receive 70% of the vote in the county, and Reagan remains the second-to-last candidate to even receive above 60% here, the last being George H. W. Bush in 1988. However, starting with Barack Obama's victory in 2008, Ouray County has transformed into a Democratic powerhouse, with Joe Biden winning it by almost 20 points in 2020.

Ouray County is part of State House District 58 in the Colorado House of Representatives. The county has been represented by Republican Marc Catlin since 2022, following redistricting.^[14]

United States presidential election results for Ouray County, Colorado^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,573	38.38%	2,442	59.59%	83	2.03%
2020	1,577	39.23%	2,365	58.83%	78	1.94%
2016	1,351	40.82%	1,697	51.27%	262	7.92%
2012	1,481	46.25%	1,646	51.41%	75	2.34%
2008	1,367	44.67%	1,636	53.46%	57	1.86%
2004	1,402	51.53%	1,278	46.97%	41	1.51%
2000	1,279	57.28%	705	31.57%	249	11.15%
1996	984	54.85%	569	31.72%	241	13.43%
1992	653	41.25%	461	29.12%	469	29.63%
1988	814	63.89%	439	34.46%	21	1.65%
1984	914	70.85%	366	28.37%	10	0.78%
1980	813	67.69%	237	19.73%	151	12.57%
1976	645	62.50%	333	32.27%	54	5.23%
1972	669	74.58%	186	20.74%	42	4.68%
1968	401	52.01%	250	32.43%	120	15.56%
1964	358	43.66%	456	55.61%	6	0.73%
1960	508	54.04%	432	45.96%	0	0.00%
1956	634	65.90%	322	33.47%	6	0.62%
1952	697	61.85%	413	36.65%	17	1.51%
1948	574	54.93%	461	44.11%	10	0.96%
1944	503	62.33%	303	37.55%	1	0.12%
1940	589	49.12%	606	50.54%	4	0.33%
1936	428	38.35%	677	60.66%	11	0.99%
1932	398	34.55%	706	61.28%	48	4.17%
1928	535	51.49%	479	46.10%	25	2.41%
1924	484	44.28%	256	23.42%	353	32.30%
1920	735	61.51%	402	33.64%	58	4.85%
1916	399	28.08%	961	67.63%	61	4.29%
1912	273	18.62%	710	48.43%	483	32.95%
1908	539	31.91%	1,085	64.24%	65	3.85%
1904	916	44.04%	1,080	51.92%	84	4.04%
1900	610	26.49%	1,656	71.91%	37	1.61%
1896	38	1.70%	2,192	98.08%	5	0.22%
1892	324	18.23%	0	0.00%	1,453	81.77%
1888	961	55.29%	733	42.17%	44	2.53%
1884	499	55.57%	399	44.43%	0	0.00%
1880	479	53.05%	418	46.29%	6	0.66%

Recreation

Ouray County, Colorado with Mount Sneffels

Ouray County, nicknamed the Switzerland of America,^{[citation needed]} is home to many parks and hiking trails. The Ridgway State Park is located due north of Ridgway on the Ridgway Reservoir and includes a marina and camping facilities, as well as an extensive trail system. Within and surrounding the county are the Uncompahgre National Forest, Mount Sneffels Wilderness, and the Uncompahgre Wilderness. Leading through the county is the Bear Creek National Recreation Trail. Well known for its view of the San Juan Mountains and Cimarron Range, scenic highways such as the Alpine Loop National Scenic Back Country Byway and San Juan Skyway National Scenic Byway exist. The Great Parks Bicycle Route and Western Express Bicycle Route also go through Ouray County.

The Elks Lodge in Ouray County is one of only a few surviving American locations for a bowling alley facility that uses exclusively human-operated pinsetting units to set the tenpins for bowling on its pair of vintage wood bowling lanes.^[16]

Communities

Ouray County has two home rule municipalities, and seven unincorporated communities. For statistical purposes, the U.S. Census Bureau has defined three of these as census-designated places (CDP). The home rule municipalities are the city of Ouray and town of Ridgway, also the most populous settlements in the county. Loghill Village is the next largest development. Along with Loghill, Portland and Colona serve as census-designated places within Ouray County. The other unincorporated communities within the county are Camp Bird, Dallas, Thistledown, and Eldredge. All the communities, with the exception of Ridgway and Ouray, serve as primarily residential communities, though Loghill Village maintains a small tourism sector.

Colona, Eldredge, and Dallas are located in the northern reaches of the county along U.S. Highway 550, though Eldredge and Dallas are located within the valleys of the San Juan Mountains while Colona is in the short stretch of the Uncompahgre Valley within Ouray County. Portland is placed down valley of Ouray, though still south of Ridgway. Camp Bird and Thistledown are communities placed southwest of Ouray on Camp Bird Road. From north to south the communities are Colona, Eldredge, Dallas, Ridgway, Ouray, and then southwest along Camp Bird Road to Thistledown and Camp Bird. The historic towns of Sneffels and Ironton are located further west from Camp Bird and south of Ouray, respectively. Populations listed below are from the 2010 United States census data.^[17]

Incorporated cities and towns

Ouray - 898
Ridgway - 1,183

census-designated places

Loghill Village - 617
Portland - 136
Colona - 36

Unincorporated communities

Historic towns

Minerals of Ouray County

Rhodochrosite—Monarch Mountain Mine, Ouray District
Sphalerite-Chalcopyrite-Quartz--Camp Bird Mine, Ouray
Sphalerite—Camp Bird Mine, Ouray
Quartz-Baryte—Silver Point Mine, Ouray County
Galena—Camp Bird Mine, Ouray
Galena-Sphalerite—Camp Bird Mine, Ouray
Chalcopyrite-Quartz—Camp Bird Mine, Ouray
:Molybdenite-Pyrite—Ouray County
Quartz—Crystal Cave, Ouray
Gold—Ouray

References

^ ^a ^b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ "Colorado County History". COGenWeb Project. 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
^ "Colorado County Evolution". Don Stanwyck. 2003. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
^ Roughneck—The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 65.
^ The Corpse On Boomerang Road, Telluride's War On Labor 1899-1908, MaryJoy Martin, 2004, page 201.
^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
^ "Marc Catlin | Colorado General Assembly". leg.colorado.gov. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Junior Mativi, Mike Canavan, Steve Turk, Eli Lane (June 14, 2009). Tulane Alley Brunswick B 10 semi automatic pinsetter (YouTube) (YouTube). Ouray County Elks Lodge, Colorado USA: wattaman. Event occurs at 4:54. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
^ "Colorado Trend Report 2: State and Complete Places (Sub-state 2010 Census Data)". Missouri Census Data Center. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2011.