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South Fork, Colorado facts for kids

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Town of South Fork, Colorado
South Fork as seen from the summit of Agua Ramon Mountain
South Fork as seen from the summit of Agua Ramon Mountain
Location of South Fork in Rio Grande County, Colorado.
Location of South Fork in Rio Grande County, Colorado.
Country  United States
State  Colorado
County Rio Grande County
Incorporated May 19, 1992
Government
 • Type Statutory Town
Area
 • Total 2.50 sq mi (6.47 km2)
 • Land 2.50 sq mi (6.47 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
8,216 ft (2,504 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 510
 • Density 204.0/sq mi (78.8/km2)
Time zone UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code
81154
Area code(s) 719
FIPS code 08-72395
GNIS feature ID 2413307
Website Town of South Fork

South Fork is a statutory town in Rio Grande County, Colorado, United States. It lies at the confluence of the South Fork and Rio Grande rivers. The population was 510 at the 2020 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2), all land.

History

South Fork was once the site of timber milling operations.

South Fork was founded in 1882, by which date its location was already marked by the presence of a coaching post, dating from the construction of the railroad connection of the Rio Grande Western Railroad line to Creede, which had been built to support the Creede silver mine. It was only in 1992 that South Fork achieved independent statutory town status, making it the youngest statutory town in the state. Originally the principal economic activities involved forestry and mining, but in recent decades these have been overtaken in the employment statistics by tourism.

South Fork made Colorado headlines during the Summer of 2020 when its town board announced that solicitations for donations was unlawful within town limits. This was in response to a local farmer's market in which one of its vendors was asking people for donations to the Black Lives Matter movement and the NAACP.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
2000 604
2010 386 −36.1%
2020 510 32.1%
South Fork, Colorado outskirts
Housing on the outskirts of town

South Fork has about 600 permanent residents, but a substantially larger summer population due to seasonal residents and visitors.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: South Fork (Colorado) para niños

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