County population gains 25% as houses sprout on rural land

County population gains 25% as houses sprout on rural land

Mar. 24, 2001

MILDRED ESTATES, a recent subdivision north of Cortez is one of several that have sprung up in previously agricultural areas throughout the county over the past decade.

By Jim Mimiaga
Journal Staff Writer

Cortez grew, Dolores lost a few, and Mancos saw a surge in population growth over the past decade, according to results released this week from Census 2000.

Cortez’s population went from 7,284 in 1990 to 7,977 at the millennium mark. The 9.5 percent growth rate outpaced the 3 percent growth Cortez experienced between 1980 and 1990.

Mancos saw the most significant expansion, growing from 842 residents to 1,119 residents, an increase of 32 percent.

"We’ve seeing it happen and we’re working to prepare for it," said Mancos Mayor Greg Rath.

Since 1980, Dolores has grown 7 percent to 857 people, according to the census. But between 1990 and 2000 the town lost nine residents.

Overall, Montezuma County had a healthy growth rate over the last 10 years, going from 18,672 people in 1990 to 23,830 residents in 2000, an increase of 24 percent. Colorado grew to 4.3 million people, up a million from 10 years ago.

The Census Bureau reported that among county residents, approximately 11 percent were Native American and 9.5 percent were Hispanic or Latino. Twenty-seven percent of the population — 6,020 individuals — is younger than 18.

County planner Karen Welch attributed some of the increase to people subdividing land for building residential homes and an increase in new or expanded business ventures.

Arrowpointe Subdivision near Totten Lake and Mildred Estates north of Cortez were two of the larger neighborhoods that have experienced growth in the last 10 years, she said. Others such as Haycamp Meadows north of Cortez, and Indian Camp Ranch west of town have yet to fill.

"Just because land is subdivided does not mean it will sell right away," Welch noted.

The so-called "second frontier effect" brought settlers in droves to the Rocky Mountain West from overcrowded California during the 1980s and ’90s. But limited job opportunities, low wages, and small-town lifestyles contributed to an accompanying exodus effect.

"A lot of newcomers leave, it seems, after six or seven years," observed Mary Sparks, a Montezuma County resident. "They sell out in California and arrive with a small mint, but then find there is not much work here and many leave."

Still, enough stay to spur growth, evidenced by corporate willingness to set up shop in Cortez as Wal-Mart, Safeway, and Quality Farm and Country decided to do in the last few years. Locally, such businesses as Osprey Packs, IFA and Mountain Sun juices have experienced expansions and growth, and smaller businesses continue to crop up all over.

Government construction also has increased. Completed Ute Mountain Ute circle farms, a new Cortez Welcome Center, a growing public library, a new county jail, a high-school addition and an expanded Southwest Memorial hospital all benefited, among others.