Crestone, Colorado

Crestone is a town located in Saguache County, Colorado. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 73. It is a small village at the foot of the western slope of the Sangre de Christo Range in the northern part of the San Luis Valley. Crestone was a small mining town but little paying ore was discovered. In the 1970s a large land development, the Baca Grande[?], was established to the south and west and several hundred homes have been built.

The Crestone area which includes the Baca Grande and Moffat, Colorado is a spiritual[?] and new age center with several world religions represented including a Hindu temple, a Zen center, a coed Carmelite[?] monastry, several Tibetan[?] centers, and miscellaneous new age happenings. You can keep up with the more notable events by subscribing to the Crestone Eagle (http://crestoneeagle.com/index), the local newspaper.

Crestone is easily accessible to visitors, a Forest Service campground[?] is about a half mile north of town, and other lodging is available. There are opportunities for camping, fishing, hiking, climbing as well as spiritual explorations.

Geography Crestone is located near the 38th parallel, in the San Luis Valley in south central Colorado. It is platted on a quarter section of land, (160 acres). A stream, North Crestone Creek runs through it and much of the land near the creek, the main part of town, is well watered in normal times, (Crestone is just recovering from the prolonged drought of 2002)

In more technical terms, Crestone is located at 37°59'45" North, 105°41'59" West (37.995792, -105.699757)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²). 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

Demographics The following is derived from the US census and covers only the town itself, thus giving a misleading idea of the area. About half of the homes in Crestone itself are used only on a seasonal basis. The Crestone community, is much larger, consisting also of several hundred homes in the Baca Grande subdivision, the surrounding rural area, and the small town of Moffat, Colorado which hosts one of the local schools. (There is also a charter school[?])

As of the census of 2000, there are 73 people, 45 households, and 18 families residing in the town. The population density is 112.7/km² (290.8/mi²). There are 79 housing units at an average density of 122.0/km² (314.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 95.89% White, 0.00% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 4.11% from other races, and 0.00% from two or more races. 1.37% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 45 households out of which 8.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.9% are married couples living together, 4.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 60.0% don't fit into the above categories. 48.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 1.62 and the average family size is 2.22.

In the town the population is spread out with 8.2% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 45.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 52 years. For every 100 females there are 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 103.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town is $31,250, and the median income for a family is $40,000. Males have a median income of $22,813 versus $27,917 for females. The per capita income for the town is $22,291. 19.7% of the population and 18.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 0.0% are under the age of 18 and 0.0% are 65 or older.

Further Reading

• For early history: Postmarks and Places, George Harlan, either self-published or Golden Bell Press, 1976, trade paperback.