Editing Wellington, Colorado

{{short description|Town in Colorado, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|established_title3 = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date3 = November 10, 1905<ref name=MuniIncCO>{{cite web | url = http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/muninc.html | title = Colorado Municipal Incorporations | publisher = [[Colorado|State of Colorado]], Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives | date = December 1, 2004 | access-date = September 2, 2007}}</ref>
|official_name            = Town of Wellington, Colorado
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|nickname                 = Colorado's Northern Gateway
|motto                    = 
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]<ref name=ZIPcode>{{cite web|url = http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp | title = ZIP Code Lookup| format = [[JavaScript]]/[[HTML]] | publisher = [[United States Postal Service]] | access-date=January 8, 2008}}</ref>
|postal_code              = 80549
|image_skyline            = Wellington, Colorado.JPG
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = Looking west on Cleveland Avenue in Wellington.
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               = 
|image_map                = File:Larimer County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Wellington Highlighted 0883230.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Wellington in Larimer County, Colorado.
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
| pushpin_map                     = Colorado#USA
| pushpin_label                   = Wellington
| pushpin_label_position          = top
| pushpin_map_caption             = Location in Colorado##Location in the United States
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = {{USA}}
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = {{flag|Colorado}}
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Colorado|County]]<ref name=COMun>{{cite web | url = http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html | title = Active Colorado Municipalities | publisher = [[Colorado|State of Colorado]], Department of Local Affairs | access-date = September 1, 2007}}</ref>
|subdivision_name2        = [[Larimer County, Colorado|Larimer County]]
|government_type          = [[Colorado municipalities#Statutory town|Statutory Town]]<ref name=COMun/>
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = Calar Chaussee
|named_for                = C. L. Wellington
|established_title        = Founded
|established_date         = 1902
|established_title2       = 
|established_date2        = 
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 9.41
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_total_sq_mi         = 3.63
|area_land_km2            = 9.40
|area_land_sq_mi          = 3.63
|area_water_km2           = 0.01
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|area_water_percent       = 0.0
|area_urban_km2           = 
|area_urban_sq_mi         = 
|area_metro_km2           = 
|area_metro_sq_mi         = 
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_note          = <ref name="QF2020"/>
|population_total         = 11047
|population_density_km2   = auto
|population_density_sq_mi = auto
|population_metro         = 
|population_density_metro_km2     = 
|population_density_metro_sq_mi   = 
|population_urban                 = 
|timezone                 = [[Mountain Time Zone|MST]]
|utc_offset               = -7
|timezone_DST             = [[Mountain Time Zone|MDT]]
|utc_offset_DST           = -6
|coordinates              = {{coord|40|42|8|N|105|0|2|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_m              = 1585
|elevation_ft             = 5200
|area_code                = [[Area code 970|970]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 08-83230
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = [http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:0202441 0202441]
|website                  = [http://www.wellingtoncolorado.gov/ Town of Wellington]
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 2021
|pop_est_footnotes = <ref name="QF2020"/>
|population_est = 11722
|area_footnotes = <ref name="QF2020">{{cite web|title=United States Census Bureau QuickFacts Wellington town, Colorado Files|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/wellingtontowncolorado |publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 13, 2022 |website=census.gov}}</ref>
}}

'''Wellington''' is a [[Colorado municipalities#Statutory town|statutory town]] in [[Larimer County, Colorado|Larimer County]], [[Colorado]], United States.  The population was 11,047 at the [[United States Census, 2020|2020 census]].<ref name="QF2020"/> Wellington is situated in the northern part of Colorado, and it is part of the Fort Collins-Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

==Geography==
Wellington is located at {{coord|40|42|8|N|105|0|20|W|type:city}} (40.702324, -105.005497).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|1.8|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land.

Wellington is [[Interstate 25 in Colorado|I-25]]'s northernmost Colorado town.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
| 1910 = 459
| 1920 = 439
| 1930 = 533
| 1940 = 465
| 1950 = 541
| 1960 = 532
| 1970 = 691
| 1980 = 1215
| 1990 = 1340
| 2000 = 2672
| 2010 = 6289
| 2020 = 11047
| estyear = 2023
| estimate = 12078
| estref = <ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{Cite web |title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html |access-date=March 24, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>
| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=December 2022|reason=No mention of Wellington at this link}} 2020<ref name="QF2020"/>
}}

{{update|section|date=December 2022|reason=Newer information is available from the 2010 and 2020 census reports}}

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 2,672 people, 932 households, and 693 families residing in the town.  The population density was {{convert|1,509.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 963 housing units at an average density of {{convert|544.1|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the town was 87.39% [[White (U.S. census)|White]], 0.26% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.05% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.67% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.07% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 8.23% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.32% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] 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 [[Marriage|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]] for the town was $17,783.  About 5.1% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.city-data.com/city/Wellington-Colorado.html|title=Wellington, Colorado (CO 80549) profile: Population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news, sex offenders}}</ref>

==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.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Position !! Name
|-
| Mayor || Calar Chaussee
|-
| Trustee || Brian Mason (Mayor Pro Tem)
|-
| Trustee || Rebekka Dailey
|-
| Trustee || Shirrell M. Tietz
|-
| Trustee || Ed Cannon
|-
| Trustee || Lowery Moyer
|-
| Trustee || Dave Wiegand
|-
| State Representative || Lori Sander
|-
| State Senator || Janice Marchman
|-
| Federal Representative || Lauren Boebert
|-
| Federal Senator|| Michael Bennet
|-
| Federal Senator|| John Hickenlooper
|}

==History==
Founded in 1902, incorporated in 1905, and named for C. L. Wellington (an employee of the [[Colorado and Southern Railway|Colorado and Southern Railroad]]). U.S. [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] Justice [[Byron White]] 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 in the United States|prohibition]], Wellington doubled as a place to drink and a service town for drivers commuting from [[Cheyenne, Wyoming|Cheyenne]] to [[Fort Collins, Colorado|Fort Collins]] 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]] 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.

Although population remained steady throughout the 20th century, Wellington experienced substantial growth in the 1990s and 2000s, in part as a [[Commuter town|bedroom community]] for the city of [[Fort Collins, Colorado|Fort Collins]], which lies 10 miles to the south.

==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<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wel.psdschools.org/about-us-1 |title=About Our School {{!}} Wellington Middle School |website=wel.psdschools.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823174557/http://wel.psdschools.org/about-us-1 |archive-date=August 23, 2013}}</ref> including:
* National "School to Watch", 2012–2015
* [[United States Department of Education]] National Green Ribbon School
* [[Advancement Via Individual Determination|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

{{clear}}

==See also==
{{portal|Geography|North America|<!--Northern America-->|United States|Colorado}}
*[[Outline of Colorado]]
**[[Index of Colorado-related articles]]
*[[State of Colorado]]
**[[Colorado cities and towns]]
***[[Colorado municipalities]]
**[[Colorado counties]]
***[[Larimer County, Colorado]]
**[[List of statistical areas in Colorado]]
***[[Front Range Urban Corridor]]
***[[North Central Colorado Urban Area]]
***[[Fort Collins-Loveland, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

==External links==
*[http://www.townofwellington.com/ Town of Wellington website]
*[http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/Wellington.pdf CDOT map of the Town of Wellington]

{{Larimer County, Colorado}}
{{Colorado|show}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Larimer County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Towns in Colorado]]
[[Category:1902 establishments in Colorado]]