CHEYENNE County, CO

Cheyenne County is the fourth-least densely populated of the 64 counties of the U.S. state of Colorado. The county population was 1,748 at 2020 census. The county seat is Cheyenne Wells.

History

Cheyenne County was created with its present borders by the Colorado State Legislature on March 25, 1889, out of portions of northeastern Bent County and southeastern Elbert County. It was named after the Cheyenne Indians who occupied eastern Colorado.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

The drainage basins in Cheyenne County include Bellyache, Big Timber, East and Middle Fork Big Spring, Eureka, Goose, Ladder, Little Spring, Pass, Rock, Sand, Turtle, White Woman, Wild Horse and Willow Creeks, as well as the Smoky Hill River. The Smoky Hill drains into the Republican River in Kansas. The creeks in the northern and eastern part of the county drain to the Republican or Smoky Hill Rivers; those in the central and southeastern part of the county drain ultimately to the Arkansas River. All of the creeks in Cheyenne County are generally dry with some flow when drawing snowmelt or rainfall. There are four summits in Cheyenne County: Agate Mound (4,457 ft.), Eureka Hill (4,700 ft.), Landsman Hill (4,695 ft.), and Twin Buttes (4,621 ft.) The highest point in the county is in the extreme northwest corner of the county on the Bledsoe Ranch (5,255 ft.)

Adjacent counties

Major Highways

Antipode

Cheyenne County is home of the Antipode of Île Saint-Paul making it one of the few places in the continental United States with a non-oceanic antipode.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,231 people, 880 households, and 602 families residing in the county. The population density was 1 people per square mile (0/km²). There were 1,105 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.87% White, 0.49% Black or African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 5.11% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 8.11% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 880 households, out of which 34.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.30% were married couples living together, 5.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 29.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.80% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,054, and the median income for a family was $44,394. Males had a median income of $32,250 versus $19,286 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,850. About 8.70% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.90% of those under age 18 and 10.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

thumb|275px|right|Cheyenne County, Colorado

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Politics

Since the 1920s, Cheyenne County has mostly supported Republican candidates in presidential elections. In the 25 presidential elections since 1920, the Democratic presidential candidates have carried the county only five times, none have broken 60% of the vote, and only Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932 won the county by a double-digit margin. By contrast, the Republican nominees have carried the county 20 times, including the last ten in a row, with all except Wendell Wilkie in 1940 winning by at least a double-digit margin. The four most recent GOP presidential candidates George W. Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Donald Trump all carried Cheyenne county with over 80% of the vote.

Historic Trails

Historic Sites