Arvada, Colorado

Arvada is a home rule municipality on the border between Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 in Adams County. Arvada is the seventh most populous city in Colorado. The city is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. The Olde Town Arvada historic district is 7 mi northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.

History
The first documented discovery of gold in the Rocky Mountain region occurred on June 22, 1850, when Lewis Ralston, a Georgia prospector traveling with a party headed for the California gold fields, dipped his sluice pan into a small stream near its confluence with Clear Creek. He found about ¼ troy ounce (8 g) of gold, then worth about five dollars (about $550 USD today.) While Ralston was elated, the rest of the party was unimpressed and continued on to California the next morning. Ralston continued panning for gold, but after a few days gave up and caught up with his party. The site of Lewis Ralston's gold discovery now lies along Ralston Creek in the City of Arvada's Gold Strike Park.

In 1858, Ralston brought another group of prospectors back to the site of his first discovery. Ralston and most of the miners gave up after a few days, but several miners found gold upstream along the South Platte River. The placer gold in the area soon played out, but hard rock deposits of gold were found in the mountains to the west. Some of the miners abandoned their search for gold and returned to farm the rich bottom land along Ralston Creek and Clear Creek. They found an eager market for their crops among other gold seekers. The Territory of Colorado was formed on February 28, 1861, and the farms in the valley expanded to feed the growing population of the region.

In 1870, the Colorado Central Railroad laid tracks through the area on its route from Golden to link up with the Kansas Pacific Railroad and the Denver Pacific Railroad at Jersey Junction, 3 mi north of Denver. On December 1, 1870, Benjamin F. Wadsworth and Louis A. Reno platted the Ralston Point townsite along the railroad. To avoid confusion with other communities along Ralston Creek, Ralston Point was soon renamed Arvada in honor of Hiram Arvada Haskin, brother-in-law of settler Mary Wadsworth. Her husband, Benjamin Wadsworth, became the first postmaster of Arvada. Colorado was granted statehood on August 1, 1876, and the Town of Arvada was formally incorporated on August 14, 1904. A vibrant agricultural community, Arvada was once known as the "Celery Capital of the World."

Arvada grew rapidly during the latter half of the 20th century as a suburb of nearby Denver, the state capital. Arvada became a Statutory City on October 31, 1951, and a Home Rule Municipality on July 23, 1963. By the end of the millennium, the population of Arvada exceeded 100,000.

Missionary shooting
On December 9, 2007, Matthew J. Murray walked into the Youth With a Mission Center in Arvada and, after he was refused his request to stay overnight in the dormitories, opened fire and killed two people, injuring two more.

A memorial was held the following Wednesday, December 12, in which Youth With a Mission leaders forgave Murray's family for what happened.

Geography
At the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total area of 102.485 km2, including 1.709 km2 of water.

Climate
Arvada has a humid continental Köppen climate classification, abbreviated as Dfb.

2020 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 106,433 people, 42,701 households, and 28,927 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,028.1 PD/sqmi. There were 44,427 housing units at an average density of 1,216.7 /mi2 with a median value of $240,000. The racial makeup of the city was 89.08% White, 0.9% African American, 0.8% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.5% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.7% of the population.

There were 44,427 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population's ages were spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 20 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.5 years. There were 51,984 males and 54,539 Females.

The median income for a household in the city was $66,125 and the median income for a family was $78,591. Males had a median income of $42,126 versus $30,802 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,679. About 4.6% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line.

Government
The City of Arvada is a Home Rule Municipality with a council–manager form of government. The Arvada City Council has seven members: an elected mayor, two councilmembers elected at large, and four councilmembers elected from council districts.

The city council selects the city manager. The Arvada City Manager is Lorie Gillis.

Economy
Arvada is predominately a commuter town to Denver and Boulder. The primary retail corridors are along Wadsworth Boulevard, 52nd Avenue, 64th Avenue, Ralston Road, and Kipling Street.

Education
Arvada is served by the Jefferson County School District R-1.

Industry
The Rocky Flats plant operated from 1952 to 1992, as a manufacturing complex that produced nuclear weapons.

Tourism and recreation
Attractions include:
 * Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
 * Cussler Museum rare automobile collection
 * Olde Town Arvada historic district
 * Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge
 * Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge

Transportation
Arvada is served by Denver International Airport and nearby Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport.

Arvada is the western terminus of Interstate 76, which begins at the intersection of Interstate 70 and State Highway 121. Other state highways in Arvada include SH 72, SH 93, and SH 95. Major highways near Arvada include Interstate 25, Interstate 270, U.S. Highway 36 and U.S. Highway 287.

The Amtrak California Zephyr passes through Arvada westbound each morning and eastbound each evening and stops at the nearby Denver Union Station. This route passes through the Rocky Mountains en route from Chicago to Emeryville, California, near Oakland.

Arvada is served by the Regional Transportation District commuter rail G line and bus routes 28, 32, 51, 52, 72, 76, and 100.

In 2014 the League of American Bicyclists designated Arvada as a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community.

Notable people
Notable individuals who were born or have lived in Arvada include novelist Clive Cussler, baseball pitcher Roy Halladay, Joe King and Isaac Slade of the rock band The Fray, and professional golfer and U.S. Olympic track and field gold medalist Babe Didrikson Zaharias.

Sister cities
Arvada's sister cities are:
 * 🇨🇳 Jinzhou, China
 * 🇰🇿 Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan