Pitkin, Colorado facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Town of Pitkin, Colorado
Town
Pitkin, August 2014
Location of Pitkin in Gunnison County, Colorado.
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Gunnison
Incorporated	April 5, 1880
Government
• Type	Statutory Town
Area
• Total	0.26 sq mi (0.67 km2)
• Land	0.26 sq mi (0.67 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	9,229 ft (2,813 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	72
• Density	277/sq mi (107.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code	81241 (PO Boxes)
Area code(s)	970
FIPS code	08-59830
GNIS feature ID	2413138

Pitkin is a small Town located in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. It's known as a Statutory Town, which means it follows general rules set by the state of Colorado for how towns are run. In 2020, about 72 people lived there.

Pitkin was started in 1879. Many people say it was the very first mining camp (a settlement built for miners) west of the Continental Divide. The Continental Divide is a line of mountains that separates rivers flowing to the Pacific Ocean from those flowing to the Atlantic Ocean. Pitkin was first called Quartzville, but its name was changed to honor Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin.

Pitkin's Location

Pitkin is found in the beautiful state of Colorado. It is located about 28 miles (45 kilometers) northeast of a larger town called Gunnison, Colorado.

The United States Census Bureau says that Pitkin covers a total area of about 0.3 square miles (0.67 square kilometers). All of this area is land, with no large bodies of water inside the town limits.

People of Pitkin

The number of people living in Pitkin has changed a lot over the years. When it was a busy mining town in 1880, nearly 1,900 people lived there. Over time, as mining became less common, the population got smaller.

In recent years, the population has stayed quite small. The latest count in 2020 showed 72 residents. This makes Pitkin a very quiet and peaceful place to live.