Evergreen, Colorado

History

A post office called Evergreen has been in operation since 1876. The community was named for evergreen trees near the original town site.

Law and government

Since Evergreen is an unincorporated area, services usually provided by a city's government are provided by multiple agencies. The county maintains the roads (less State Highway 74), oversees planning and zoning, provides primary and secondary education through its school district and provides law enforcement through its sheriff's office. Evergreen Fire/Rescue provides fire protection and emergency medical response service. Water and sewer services operate under the administration of the Evergreen Metropolitan District.

Geography

Evergreen sits at an elevation of 7,220 feet (2,200 m) in the Rocky Mountains, 15 miles west of Denver, Colorado. Evergreen is located at 39°38′20″N 105°20′11″W (39.638905, -105.336318).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 11.6 square miles (30 km²), of which, 11.6 square miles (30 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (0.52%) is water.

Major Parks

Evergreen is surrounded by thousands of acres of land in the Denver Mountain Parks and Jefferson County Open Space park systems. The Denver Mountain Parks in the area are Bergen Park, Corwina Park, Dedisse Park, Dillon Park, Fillius Park, O'Fallon Park and Pence Park in Indian Hills. The Jefferson County Open Space Parks are Alderfer/Three Sisters, Elk Meadow, Lair o' the Bear, and Mount Falcon Park in Indian Hills. Hiwan Golf Club, a country club located just east of Bergen Park, is Evergreen's only country club. Popular both in the summer and the winter, Evergreen Lake and its "Lake House" are recreational focal points for the area.

Transportation

The two major roads in Evergreen are State Highway 74 and County Highway 73. Highway 74 runs south from Interstate 70 through Bergen Park and northern Evergreen to downtown, then turns east and follows Bear Creek Canyon to its end at State Highway 8 near Red Rocks Park. Highway 73 runs south from downtown Evergreen to connect with U.S. Highway 285 in Conifer.

Bus service in Evergreen is offered by Denver Regional Transportation District. TheRide regional routes E and Z run to downtown Denver and there is call-n-Ride curb-to-curb transportation service in town.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,216 people, 3,591 households, and 2,689 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 795.7 people per square mile (307.3/km²). There were 3,840 housing units at an average density of 331.5 per square mile (128.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.35% White, 0.26% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.08% of the population.

There were 3,591 households out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.6% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the CDP, the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $79,380, and the median income for a family was $88,589. Males had a median income of $62,917 versus $37,392 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $36,654. About 2.3% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Sites of interest

Evergreen Lake, a popular recreation area, was created by damming Bear Creek in 1927. It sits above downtown Evergreen, which includes a mix of historic buildings and local businesses, including the well-known entertainment venue and restaurant The Little Bear.

In the winter, ice skating is offered at Evergreen Lake. The skating season usually runs from mid-to-late December (approximately Christmas) to late March depending upon ice thickness and weather. Evergreen Lake is the venue of the annual Skate the Lake celebration that takes place on New Year's Eve.

Registered Historic Places in Evergreen include:

Education

Areas of Evergreen lying within Jefferson County are served by Jefferson County Schools. Most students live within the Evergreen High School catchment area, while parts of southern Evergreen fall into the area for Conifer High School. Most students in the Evergreen area go to Evergreen Middle School. There are four elementary schools in Evergreen; Bergen Meadow, Bergen Valley, Wilmot, and Marshdale Elementary. Residents west of the Clear Creek County line are served by Clear Creek Schools with students attending King-Murphy Elementary (ranked in the top 1% of elementary schools in Colorado), Clear Creek Middle School, and Clear Creek High School.

Private schools in Evergreen include Evergreen Academy, Evergreen Country Day School, Grace Christian School, and Montessori School Of Evergreen.

Notable residents