Granby, Colorado

The Town of Granby is the Statutory Town that is the most populous municipality in Grand County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 2,079 at the 2020 United States Census. Granby is situated along U.S. Highway 40 in the Middle Park basin, and it is about 85 mi northwest of Denver and 14 mi southwest of Rocky Mountain National Park.

History
The town was founded in 1904 along the route of the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railway and was incorporated one year later. It was named after Granby Hillyer, a Denver lawyer who later served as the United States Attorney for that city's district.

Many Granby and Grand County residents are descended from pioneer settlers who arrived before the country was fully surveyed. Early families established themselves under the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed easy access to land to those who would inhabit and improve upon the territory.

Since the turn of the century, families have contended for prime ranch land. The Hudlers and Cooks are descended from original homesteaders. Their waning ranch once covered approximately 20000 acre and was rich in cattle and hay.

Bulldozer rampage
Marvin Heemeyer was a local auto muffler shop owner who had multiple disputes with the town over zoning, sewage, and other issues. As a result, on June 4, 2004, Heemeyer went on a rampage through town, driving a modified bulldozer. Several buildings were damaged, including a bank, a hardware store, the concrete company, a utility service center, the town hall, the police department, and a former mayor's home. The rampage lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes, ending when the bulldozer got stuck attempting to go through the alleyway of Gambles Hardware Store. Heemeyer then committed suicide with a handgun. No other deaths occurred, but an estimated $7 million in damage was done.

Geography
Granby sits at 7935 ft above sea level in the valley of the Fraser River, 2 mi east of its mouth at the Colorado River. It is located in eastern Grand County in an area subject to average annual rainfall of $12 1/4$ inches and annual snowfall of more than 128 in.

U.S. Route 40 passes through the center of town as Agate Avenue, leading south and east over Berthoud Pass to the Denver area, west 10 mi to Hot Sulphur Springs, the Grand County seat. Kremmling is 27 mi to the west on US 40. U.S. Route 34 intersects US 40 on the west side of Granby and leads northeast into Rocky Mountain National Park, crossing the mountains as Trail Ridge Road and reaching Estes Park 60 mi northeast of Granby.

At the 2020 United States Census, the town had a total area of 32.845 km2, all of it land.

Climate
This climate type is dominated by the winter season, a long, bitterly cold period with short, clear days, relatively little precipitation mostly in the form of snow, and low humidity. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Granby has a warm summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,525 people, 579 households, and 390 families residing in the town. The population density was 856.2 PD/sqmi. There were 628 housing units at an average density of 352.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 96.26% White, 0.46% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.44% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.61% of the population.

There were 579 households, out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $46,667, and the median income for a family was $55,250. Males had a median income of $35,455 versus $24,417 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,224. About 4.0% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under the age of 18 and 9.0% of those ages 65 and older.

Transportation


Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides daily service to Granby, operating its California Zephyr daily in both directions between Chicago and Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco.

Granby-Grand County Airport, a small airport one mile east of town, serves as a stopover for transient general aviation flights, as well as hosts some local aviation activity. There are currently no scheduled passenger carrier flights into or out of the airport, which features a 5000 ft by 75 ft asphalt runway. Services at the airport are limited to aviation fuel for both piston and jet/turboprop aircraft. According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), the airport was previously served by Rocky Mountain Airways which operated scheduled passenger flights to Denver during the mid 1970s with small de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft.

Notable residents

 * Penny Rafferty Hamilton, aviation educator, writer, and photographer
 * Marvin Heemeyer, perpetrator of the 2004 Granby rampage in an armored bulldozer