Editing Carbondale, Colorado (section)

==History and culture==

The Roaring Fork and Crystal Valleys historically were a seasonal home and hunting ground of the [[Parianuche]] and [[White River Utes|Yampa]] bands of the [[Ute people]]. In the 1870s, white prospectors and settlers defied U.S. treaties with the Utes and entered the area in increasingly significant numbers. The United States [[Agreement with the Confederated Bands of Ute]] signed on September 18, 1880, removed the Ute People from the area.

The State of Colorado created Garfield County on February 10, 1883, and the Carbondale, Colorado, post office opened on January 6, 1887.<ref name=CPO>{{cite book|title=Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989|first1=William H.|last1=Bauer|first2=James L.|last2=Ozment|first3=John H.|last3=Willard|date=1990|publisher=[[Colorado Railroad Museum|Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation]]|location=[[Golden, Colorado]]|isbn=0-918654-42-4}}</ref>

Carbondale takes its name from [[Carbondale, Pennsylvania]], hometown of some of Carbondale's early settlers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dawson|first=John Frank|title=Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051116740;view=1up;seq=19|year=1954|publisher=The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co.|location=Denver, CO|page=13}}</ref> Carbondale's economy was initially agriculturally based. Farmers and ranchers capitalized on open lands around Carbondale to supply food for miners in nearby [[Aspen, Colorado|Aspen]], then a booming center of silver mining activity.

Early in the 20th century, before the rise of industrial agriculture in [[Idaho]], Carbondale's primary agricultural product was potatoes. The legacy lives on in Potato Day, an annual fall parade and cookout in Sopris Park.

Despite the non-geologic origins of the town's name, the Carbondale area does in fact possess significant [[coal]] resources. Until the late 1980s Carbondale's economy was primarily based on coal operations up the Crystal River Valley. The coal mined from the area was favored for its high burning temperature, low sulfur content, and density. However, the coal deposits also contained significant amounts of [[methane gas]]. In 1981, a methane gas explosion killed 15 miners <ref>[http://www.postindependent.com/article/20060416/VALLEYNEWS/104160006 Valley News article]</ref> and by 1991 the mines closed down permanently.

The rise of Aspen as a skiing mecca and subsequent hyperinflation of its real estate prices has forced a majority of its workers to other towns like Carbondale. Thus, especially since the 1980s, Carbondale has partly served as a [[bedroom community]] to Aspen, and, to a lesser extent, Glenwood Springs. More recently Carbondale has seen a boom of [[vacation property|second-home]] construction, arts and recreational amenities, and tourism as the area's wealth and renown has grown.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

===Notable community organizations and events===

Carbondale's largest annual event is the summer arts and music festival, [[Mountain Fair]] held in Sopris Park. The event has annual attendance between 18,000 and 20,000 people over the three days of which it is held, being nearly triple the population of Carbondale.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.carbondalearts.com/mountain-fair/|title=Mountain Fair - Carbondale Arts|work=Carbondale Arts|access-date=July 25, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> It is run by and benefits Carbondale Arts,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.carbondalearts.com/mountain-fair | title=Mountain Fair }}</ref> a nonprofit that runs a range of other arts programs year-round.

The popular [[list of rodeos|Carbondale Wild West Rodeo]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://carbondalerodeo.com/|title=Home|website=Carbondale Wild West Rodeo}}</ref> is held every Thursday night during the summer and features bronc riding, calf scramble, hide racing, and ribbon roping among other competitions.

[[KDNK]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kdnk.org/|title=KDNK|website=www.kdnk.org|access-date=March 6, 2019}}</ref> is a [[Community Radio|community access]] FM radio station licensed to Carbondale.

The Third Street Center<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thirdstreetcenter.net/the-center/ | title=The Center }}</ref> is a local nonprofit hub in the town's former elementary school that hosts many community organizations.

The Carbondale Clay Center,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.carbondaleclay.org/|title=Carbondale Clay Center|website=Carbondale Clay Center}}</ref> Carbondale Arts' R2 Gallery,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.carbondalearts.com/gallery | title=Gallery: Current Exhibition }}</ref> and The Powers Art Center<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.powersartcenter.org/|title=Powers Art Center|website=Powers Art Center}}</ref> offer rotating public art exhibitions.

The Carbondale Creative District<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.carbondalecreativedistrict.com/|title=Carbondale Creative District|website=Carbondale Creative District}}</ref> is certified by a grant, marketing, and technical assistance program run by [[Colorado Creative Industries]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://oedit.colorado.gov/colorado-creative-industries | title=Colorado Creative Industries &#124; Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade }}</ref> a division of the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade.