Several railroads figure in the development of this area. The Colorado Central Railroad built a narrow-gauge line from Golden in 1873, the Denver, Utah and Pacific Railroad arrived in 1881, and the Denver, Marshall and Boulder Railway built a line through what is now Broomfield in 1886. The Denver, Utah and Pacific was widened to standard gauge in 1889. One of the early names for the area was Zang's Spur, after the railroad spur serving Adolph Zang's grain fields.[8]
The municipality of Broomfield was incorporated in 1961 in the southeastern corner of Boulder County. Researchers speculate the city was named for the sorghum grown in the area, also known as broomcorn, which farmers sold to manufacturers of brooms and whisk brooms.[9]
In the 1990s, after three decades of annexations, Broomfield stretched across Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, and Weld counties, city leaders felt increasing chagrin with the need to deal with four separate court districts, four different county seats, and four separate county sales tax bases. They began pushing to make Broomfield a consolidated city-county similar to Denver, reasoning that they could provide services more responsively if it had its own county government.
The city sought an amendment to the state constitution to create a new county. The amendment was passed in 1998, after which a three-year transition period followed.
On November 15, 2001, Broomfield County became the 64th and smallest county of Colorado. It is the newest county in Colorado (and in the entire United States, if county equivalents are not included.)[10]
On February 20, 2021, United Airlines Flight 328 from Denver to Honolulu experienced an engine failure after takeoff from Denver International Airport and debris from the engine landed in parts of Broomfield. Multiple homes were damaged, but no injuries were reported, and the plane landed safely at DIA.[11]
The elevation in Broomfield ranges from 5,096 to 5,856 feet (1,553 to 1,785 m).[12] At the 2020 United States Census, Broomfield had a total area of 21,471 acres (86.890 km2), including 371 acres (1.503 km2) of water.[5] It is the smallest county by area in Colorado and the 5th smallest in the United States. Broomfield is the second most densely populated county in Colorado behind Denver.[13]
There were 22,016 households, of which 41.2 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8 percent were married couples living together, 8.2 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8 percent were non-families. 19.3 percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.2 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 people, and the average family size was 3.19 people.
Age distribution figures show 26.2 percent of residents under the age of 18 and 9.9 percent age 65 years or older. The median age was 36.4 years. Females made up 50.2% of the population.
The median household income was $79,034 and the median family income was $96,206 in 2013. The per capita income for the city was $38,792. 48.1 percent of the population over age 25 held a bachelor's degree or higher.
Politics
When the county was formed in 2001, it was a swing county, and the city itself has voted for the winner of the national popular vote in each presidential election from 2004 to 2020. In the 2012 election, incumbent president and Democrat Barack Obama defeated Republican Mitt Romney by roughly five percentage points. In recent years, the county has trended towards the Democratic Party. In 2016, it voted decisively for Hillary Clinton. Joe Biden won the county by an even larger margin in 2020.
Since its inception, Broomfield County has voted for the winner of Colorado's electoral votes.
As of March 1, 2021, 15,671 voters were Democrats, 11,658 voters were Republicans, and 23,354 voters were not affiliated with any party.[19]
United States presidential election results for Broomfield, Colorado
Broomfield's recreational opportunities include the Paul Derda Recreation Center and pool, athletic fields, courts and rinks and open space and trails.[21][22]
Broomfield has an extensive trail system that connects the various lakes and parks. A scenic trail connects the Stearns Lake and the Josh's Pond memorial on the west side of town. Broomfield also has a 9/11 memorial containing a piece of a steel beam from one of the towers.
Broomfield also has a skate park with many different features such as bowls, a large half-pipe and several "street" obstacles.
The Broomfield Community Center (renovated in 2020) offers a wide variety of fitness classes, senior activities, and hosts swim meets and kid's camps for the whole city and county.
A few of the favorite outdoor activities of Broomfield residents are tennis and golf. There are a large amount of both golf courses and tennis courts open to the public. In addition, pickleball is a favored indoor activity.
Broomfield operates as a consolidated city-county. The city council acts simultaneously as the board of county commissioners, and the police chief is simultaneously the county sheriff. The Broomfield Police Department performs all of the duties that would normally be performed by a county sheriff's office, including operating the county jail (detention center), providing security and bailiff services for the Broomfield Municipal, County, and District Courts and the Combined Courts Building, and providing civil process in the county. The police chief can be hired or fired at will by the city council, which makes Broomfield's sheriff, along with Denver's, the only non-elected sheriffs in the state.
Since Broomfield used to be divided among four counties, students living in the city were served by the separate school districts for their county.[citation needed] While the city is now united within one county, the city is still separated among multiple school districts.
School districts that have sections of Broomfield:[24]
There are five school districts that overlap Broomfield, but the two largest school districts in Broomfield are Adams Twelve Five Star Schools and Boulder Valley School District.[citation needed]
Broomfield features two large public high schools (Broomfield High School, which underwent significant renovations from 2009 to 2010, and Legacy High), two public middle schools, and eight public elementary schools. There are four private schools: Brightmont Academy, a 1-to-1 school for all grade levels; Broomfield Academy, with an academic preschool, an elementary school, and a middle school; Holy Family, a Catholic high school; and Nativity of Our Lord Parish, a Catholic elementary school. Broomfield also contains two K–12 charter schools, Prospect Ridge Academy and Front Range Academy, which has two Broomfield campuses.
Notable people
Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Broomfield or both include:
United States
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