Bennett, Colorado

The Town of Bennett is a Statutory Town in Adams and Arapahoe counties in the U.S. state of Colorado.[2] The town population was 2,308 at the 2010 United States Census.[9] Bennett is a part of the Denver metropolitan area.

Bennett, Colorado
Statutory Town
Location of Bennett in Adams County and Arapahoe County, Colorado.
Location in Colorado
Bennett, Colorado (the United States)
Coordinates: 39°44′46″N 104°26′34″W[1]
Country United States
State State of Colorado
CountiesAdams County[2]
Arapahoe County
Incorporated (town)January 22, 1930[3]
Government
  TypeStatutory Town[2]
  MayorRoyce Pindell[4]
Area
  Total5.80 sq mi (15.03 km2)
  Land5.80 sq mi (15.01 km2)
  Water0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation5,485 ft (1,672 m)
Population
 (2010)
  Total2,308
  Estimate 
(2019)[7]
2,798
  Density482.75/sq mi (186.39/km2)
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST)
  Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code
80102[8]
Area code(s)Both 303 and 720
FIPS code08-06090
GNIS feature ID0204738
Websitewww.bennett.co.us

History

Bennett was incorporated on January 22, 1930,[10] and was named for Hiram Pitt Bennet, congressional delegate from the Territory of Colorado and Colorado Secretary of State.[11]

Colorado spam king

Edward Davidson, known also as the "Colorado Spam King", operated an illegal spamming company, Power promotions, from July 2002 through April 2007 from a home near Bennett where he had a large network of computers and servers, according to federal authorities. The spam contained false header information, concealing the actual sender from the recipient of the e-mail. Davidson provided spammed messages for about 19 different companies, prosecutors said. Some of the e-mailed pitches were used to dupe stock investors and manipulate the market, federal authorities said. Davidson was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $714,139 to the Internal Revenue Service. On July 20, 2008, he escaped from a minimum-security prison. Four days later, he was found dead with his wife and a child, both also dead, in an apparent murder-suicide near Bennett.[12]

Kiowa Crossing and train wreck

Until 1878, the town was known as Kiowa Crossing. On May 21 of that year, a heavy rainstorm washed out the railroad bridge to the east of town. A Kansas Pacific Railway train of 25 cars loaded with scrap iron was washed into the stream with engineers Frank Seldon, George Piatt, and John Bacon on board. Most of the wrecked train was recovered, but the locomotive #51 was never officially found. In 1989, archivist Loyd Glasier at Union Pacific found that the railroad had found the locomotive, secretly dug it up, put it back into service, and collected the insurance money in a complex insurance scam.[13] The story of the lost locomotive inspired Clive Cussler to write Night Probe!; his nonprofit NUMA later searched for the locomotive.

Opera controversy

The town achieved national notoriety in February 2006 when a number of parents of elementary schoolchildren criticized a local teacher for showing in class a video of Gounod's classic opera Faust, featuring world renowned and critically acclaimed soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Parents said their children were traumatized by the appearance of a leering devil in the video, a man appearing to be killed by a sword in silhouette, and an allusion to suicide.[14] Tresa Waggoner, the teacher who showed the video, was required to send a letter of apology for her actions to parents.[15]

High School Vandalization

Back in 1998 the high school was broken into and vandalized. The next day students came to school and noticed what had happened. Two students, Daniel Kritner and Jason Rinke, wanted to help put their school back together. They had decided to put together a talent show that the audience would pay to get into, the proceeds went to putting the high school back together. Jason and Daniel were given awards for their efforts by Bennett's town officials. Many people from the town thanked them for their efforts, both of their names will forever be etched in Bennett's history. (Source?)

Geography

Bennett is located at 39°45′13″N 104°25′43″W (39.753604, -104.428580),[16] at the intersection of State Highways 36 and 79, just north of Interstate 70.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.6 square miles (14.4 km2), of which 0.0077 square miles (0.02 km2), or 0.10%, is water.[9] The highest temperature ever recorded in Colorado occurred in Bennett on July 11, 1888, when it reached 118 °F (48 °C).[17]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.
1930211
1940199−5.7%
195027236.7%
19602875.5%
1970613113.6%
198094253.7%
19901,75786.5%
20002,02115.0%
20102,30814.2%
2019 (est.)2,798[7]21.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[18]

As of the census[19] of 2000, there were 2,021 people, 715 households, and 539 families residing in the town. The population density was 652.3 people per square mile (251.7/km2). There were 732 housing units at an average density of 236.3 per square mile (91.2/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 94.56% White, 0.49% African American, 0.74% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 1.63% from other races, and 2.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.45% of the population.

There were 715 households, out of which 49.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 34.5% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 5.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $46,600, and the median income for a family was $50,881. Males had a median income of $38,672 versus $26,354 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,905. About 3.7% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

  • Jason Rinke

See also

References

  1. "2014 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Places". United States Census Bureau. July 1, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  2. "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
  3. "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  4. "Town Board". Town of Bennett. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
  5. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  6. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  7. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  8. "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. January 11, 2007. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on September 3, 2007. Retrieved January 11, 2007.
  9. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Bennett town, Colorado". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  10. "Bennett, Colorado". City-Data.com. Retrieved August 2012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. Dawson, John Frank (1954). Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 9.
  12. "'Spam King' Inmate Dies Along With Wife, Daughter", CBS4 Denver, https://web.archive.org/web/20080725102909/http://www.cbs4denver.com/crime/Edward.Davidson.dead.2.779131.html
  13. "Lost Locomotive of Kiowa Creek". NUMA.net. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  14. The Denver Post https://www.denverpost.com/2006/02/14/embattled-music-teacher-district-nixed-buyout-offer/
  15. Rocky Mountain News http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2006/feb/22/teacher-who-showed-faust-video-awaits-her-fate/
  16. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  17. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/pub/data/special/maxtemps.pdf Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  18. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  19. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  20. "Town History". State of Colorado. Archived from the original on August 4, 2014. Retrieved August 2012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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