The Town of Parachute is a Statutory Town in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,006 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Parachute is located at 39°27′6″N 108°3′6″W / 39.45167°N 108.05167°W / 39.45167; -108.05167 (39.451732, -108.051530)[5].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²), of which, 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (4.07%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 1,006 people, 381 households, and 233 families residing in the town. The population density was 851.2 people per square mile (329.2/km²). There were 415 housing units at an average density of 351.1/sq mi (135.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 86.88% White, 0.80% African American, 1.59% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.70% Pacific Islander, 5.67% from other races, and 3.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.78% of the population.
There were 381 households out of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.42.
In the town the population was spread out with 34.2% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 15.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $31,208, and the median income for a family was $34,423. Males had a median income of $31,118 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,114. About 7.7% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 22.5% of those age 65 or over.
Name
The name comes from the appearance on a map of several streams converging on the town as do the shroud lines of a parachute combined with the arc of the ridge line above the streams which resembles the canopy of a parachute. The town was previously named Grand Valley.
The town was originally named Parachute, after the one creek that flowed into town from the northwest. Parachute Creek was named such when the original surveyors mapped the area. As noted above, the creek has three main branches that converge at a point and a topographical map of the canyon has the appearance of a parachute—but this is several miles northwest of the town. In 1908, the name of the town was changed to Grand Valley to lure travellers on their way to the Grand Valley, which is the Colorado River valley to the southwest known for its fruit production. After the local history "Lest We Forget" was published in the late 1970s (the name was changed in the 1980s), the town voted to return the name Parachute to the town.
See also
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