Fountain, Colorado

How Fountain is governed

Form of government not yet listed.

0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

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  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

fountaincolorado.org

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Population over time

From 25,846 in 2010 to 29,802 in 2020 (+15.3%).

History

Fountain was built in 1859 as a railroad shipping center for local ranches and farms. The town was named for Fountain Creek and was incorporated in 1900.

A train wreck, "The Blast", as it is now known, occurred in Fountain during the spring of 1888. Just after three in the morning on May 14, 1888, a freight train carrying eighteen tons of explosives and a passenger train collided in the city. The accident killed three people: Charles F. Smith, a Fountain lumber dealer originally from Keokuk, Iowa, Henry Hutchins, a Fountain merchant and Mrs. Sarah Widrig a local hat maker from Fountain. (There are conflicting reports of others who may not have died immediately, but later as a result of injuries from the crash.)

The blast from the collision created a very loud explosion that could be heard from miles away. The crash destroyed a nearby church, a grocery store and created a large crater in the ground forty feet in diameter and fifteen feet deep.

The cause of the wreck was attributed to a pair of unruly vagrants who were kicked off of the freight train north of Fountain in Colorado Springs. After an investigation by The Rocky Mountain News, it was later reported that one of the two vagrants murdered a third man, Frank Shipman, on the freight train. Shipman was returning from visiting his brother in Pueblo, Colorado. The unidentified vagrants and Shipman had been arguing and Shipman was struck hard in the head killing him. The men attempted to dispose of Shipman's dead body and cover-up the crime by disconnecting the train car Shipman's body was in. The train car Shipman's body was in, three other train cars carrying the explosive naphtha, and the caboose of the freight train were disconnected by the men and sent southbound towards Fountain. Meanwhile, a passenger train was traveling northbound on the same tracks. The collision followed. Thirty riders on board the northbound passenger train were able to escape the locomotive before the collision thanks to a frantic warning from the conductor. Twenty-eight people were injured. The vagrants suspected at the root of Shipman's murder and the train wreck were never found and no one was ever charged with a crime.

"The Blast" remains an important event in the city's history. It is commemorated with an annual street dance held at Fountain's City Hall Plaza each July.

In 1999, Fountain was chosen as "America's Millennium City" by The New York Times. Fountain was named an "All-America City" in 2002 by the National Civic League. The city is the home of Pikes Peak International Raceway.

In 2008, in a controversial move, the city of Fountain purchased a 480-acre (1.9 km2) ranch, the H2O Ranch in Custer County, for $3.5 million. The city was interested in the prime water rights on the property totaling 700 acre-feet (860,000 m3) a year. Fountain is in the process of drying out the ranch and moving through the water courts to actually receive some of that water. They claim that they should be able to successfully receive 600 of that 700 acre-feet (860,000 m3) after the water courts have made their decisions. It is expected that Fountain will separate the water from the ranch and then sell the ranch separately.

In 2014, Cop Car began filming in Fountain.

In 2020, Fountain water was considered safe to drink after a long running contamination problem with PFCs (perflourinated compounds) being leaked into the water table by the nearby Air Force base.According to a recent study, PFAS’s have been shown to cause penile shrinkage.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Other cities in Colorado

• Denver 715,522
• Colorado Springs 478,961
• Aurora 386,261
• Fort Collins 169,810
• Thornton 141,867
• Arvada 124,402
• Westminster 116,317
• Pueblo 111,876

All Colorado cities →