Centennial, Wyoming
Encyclopedia
Centennial is a census-designated place
(CDP) in Albany County, Wyoming
, United States
. The population was 191 at the 2000 census
.
was pushing west to link up with the Central Pacific Railroad
, as part of the First Transcontinental Railroad
, they sent logging crews into the Snowy Range
, in the Medicine Bow Mountains, to cut down timber (mainly Lodgepole Pine
) for railroad ties. A work camp was built on the site of the town. After they had completed most of their work and the workers started having conflicts with area Indians, the crews left the area. After the area was opened to homesteaders a few ranchers returned to the area.
Men working for I. P. Lambing (superintendent at the mine) of Golden, Colorado
and Colonel Stephen W. Downey
(a lawyer and president of what would become Centennial Gold Mining Company) of Laramie, Wyoming
, discovered gold on what would become Centennial Ridge on Centennial Mountain in 1875. As miners and prospectors started coming to the area, to work the Centennial Mine (also called the Downey Load and Centennial Vein), they reestablished a community on the old work camp site in 1876 and named the town Centennial in honor of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
and founding of the United States. Most of the gold was stripped from the mines by 1877, but the town was now established and merchants who came to serve the miners stayed to serve the nearby ranchers.
On the west side of Centennial Ridge a copper claim was discovered by Jacob Schnitzler in 1896.
Gold had people coming to the area again in 1902, and again in 1923-1924, but no significant amount was ever found. Loggers returned to the area in 1905 to cut timber for a coal mine near Coalmont
in Jackson County, Colorado
. Acme Consolidated Gold & Mining Company, headed by Isaac Van Horn, bought up timber land around the town, the townsite (Interstate Town Site Company), opened a sawmill, a planing mill
and lumber yard, and opened a newspaper, the Centennial Post. The partners in Acme Consolidated Gold & Mining Company, Van Horn, Fred A. Miller, and Edward R. Miller, also formed the Laramie, Hahns Peak and Pacific Railway to transport the coal out to eastern markets. The railroad, originating in Laramie, reached Centennial on June 17, 1907 (it would finally reach Coalmont in 1911). That same year a bank was founded.
A. J. Hull, Jesse Northrop, and B. F. Northrop located the Platinum Queen (aka Queen Mine) on September 23, 1923, approximately 2.3 miles southwest of Centennial, on Centennial Ridge. Most activity around the mine area ceased after the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the advent of the Great Depression
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 10.0 square miles (26.0 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 191 people, 97 households, and 57 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 19.1 people per square mile (7.4/km²). There were 295 housing units at an average density of 29.4/sq mi (11.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.29% White, 1.05% Native American, 1.05% Asian, and 2.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.14% of the population.
There were 97 households out of which 15.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples
living together, 2.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.44.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 13.1% under the age of 18, 3.1% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 44.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 130.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,292, and the median income for a family was $45,417. Males had a median income of $57,292 versus $37,969 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $29,477. About 15.9% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 100.0% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.
.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in Albany County, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 191 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
.
History
As the Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
was pushing west to link up with the Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
, as part of the First Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
, they sent logging crews into the Snowy Range
Medicine Bow Mountains
The Medicine Bow Mountains are a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains that extend for from northern Colorado into southern Wyoming. The northern extent of this range is the sub-range the Snowy Range...
, in the Medicine Bow Mountains, to cut down timber (mainly Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...
) for railroad ties. A work camp was built on the site of the town. After they had completed most of their work and the workers started having conflicts with area Indians, the crews left the area. After the area was opened to homesteaders a few ranchers returned to the area.
Men working for I. P. Lambing (superintendent at the mine) of Golden, Colorado
Golden, Colorado
The City of Golden is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the edge of the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush on 16 June 1859, the mining camp was...
and Colonel Stephen W. Downey
Stephen Wheeler Downey
Stephen Wheeler Downey was a lawyer and politician in Wyoming.In 1861, Stephen Downey enlisted as a private in the 3rd Maryland Infantry, Potomac Home Brigade, and successfully promoted to first lieutenant, lieutenant colonel, and colonel...
(a lawyer and president of what would become Centennial Gold Mining Company) of Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....
, discovered gold on what would become Centennial Ridge on Centennial Mountain in 1875. As miners and prospectors started coming to the area, to work the Centennial Mine (also called the Downey Load and Centennial Vein), they reestablished a community on the old work camp site in 1876 and named the town Centennial in honor of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
and founding of the United States. Most of the gold was stripped from the mines by 1877, but the town was now established and merchants who came to serve the miners stayed to serve the nearby ranchers.
On the west side of Centennial Ridge a copper claim was discovered by Jacob Schnitzler in 1896.
Gold had people coming to the area again in 1902, and again in 1923-1924, but no significant amount was ever found. Loggers returned to the area in 1905 to cut timber for a coal mine near Coalmont
Coalmont, Colorado
Coalmont is an unincorporated town and U.S. Post Office in Jackson County, Colorado, United States. The Coalmont Post Office has the ZIP Code 80430.-See also:* Jackson County, Colorado* List of cities and towns in Colorado* State of Colorado...
in Jackson County, Colorado
Jackson County, Colorado
Jackson County is the fourth-least densely populated of the Colorado 64 counties of the U.S. state of Colorado. The county population was 1,577 at the 2000 Census. The county seat and the only municipality in the county is the Town of Walden.- History :...
. Acme Consolidated Gold & Mining Company, headed by Isaac Van Horn, bought up timber land around the town, the townsite (Interstate Town Site Company), opened a sawmill, a planing mill
Planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
and lumber yard, and opened a newspaper, the Centennial Post. The partners in Acme Consolidated Gold & Mining Company, Van Horn, Fred A. Miller, and Edward R. Miller, also formed the Laramie, Hahns Peak and Pacific Railway to transport the coal out to eastern markets. The railroad, originating in Laramie, reached Centennial on June 17, 1907 (it would finally reach Coalmont in 1911). That same year a bank was founded.
A. J. Hull, Jesse Northrop, and B. F. Northrop located the Platinum Queen (aka Queen Mine) on September 23, 1923, approximately 2.3 miles southwest of Centennial, on Centennial Ridge. Most activity around the mine area ceased after the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the advent of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Geography
Centennial is located at 41°17′53"N 106°8′15"W (41.297981, -106.137614).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 10.0 square miles (26.0 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 191 people, 97 households, and 57 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 19.1 people per square mile (7.4/km²). There were 295 housing units at an average density of 29.4/sq mi (11.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.29% White, 1.05% Native American, 1.05% Asian, and 2.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.14% of the population.
There were 97 households out of which 15.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 2.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.44.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 13.1% under the age of 18, 3.1% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 44.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 130.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,292, and the median income for a family was $45,417. Males had a median income of $57,292 versus $37,969 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $29,477. About 15.9% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 100.0% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.
Education
Public education in the community of Centennial is provided by Albany County School District #1Albany County School District Number 1
Albany County School District #1 is a public school district based in Laramie, Wyoming, United States.-Geography:Albany County School District #1 serves all of Albany County, including the following communities:*Incorporated places**City of Laramie...
.