Editing Simla, Colorado

{{short description|Town in Elbert County, Colorado, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
|name                     = Simla, Colorado
|other_name               = 
|native_name              = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
|nickname                 = 
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|motto                    = <!-- images and maps  ----------->
|image_skyline            = Simla, Colorado.JPG
|imagesize                = 225px
|image_caption            = Looking east along Highway 24 in Simla.
|image_flag               = 
|flag_size                = 
|image_seal               = 
|seal_size                = 
|image_shield             = 
|shield_size              = 
|image_blank_emblem       = 
|blank_emblem_type        = 
|blank_emblem_size        = 
|image_map                = File:Elbert County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Simla Highlighted 0870635.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Simla in Elbert County, Colorado.
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
|pushpin_map              = <!-- the name of a location map as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Location_map -->
|pushpin_label_position   = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_map_caption      = 
|pushpin_mapsize          = <!-- Location ------------------>
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = {{USA}}
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = {{flag|Colorado|name=State of Colorado}}
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Colorado|County]]<ref name=COMun>{{cite web | url = http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html | title = Active Colorado Municipalities | publisher = [[Colorado|State of Colorado]], Department of Local Affairs | accessdate = September 1, 2007 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20091212060308/http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html | archivedate = December 12, 2009 }}</ref>
|subdivision_name2        = [[Elbert County, Colorado|Elbert County]]
|subdivision_type3        = 
|subdivision_name3        = 
|subdivision_type4        = 
|subdivision_name4        = <!-- Politics ----------------->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = [[Colorado municipalities#Statutory town|Statutory Town]]<ref name=COMun/>
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = <!-- for places with, say, both a mayor and a city manager -->
|leader_name1             = 
|leader_title2            = 
|leader_name2             = 
|leader_title3            = 
|leader_name3             = 
|leader_title4            = 
|leader_name4             = 
|established_title        = <!-- Settled -->
|established_date         = 
|established_title2       = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date2        = January 15, 1912<ref name=MuniIncCO>{{cite web | url = http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/muninc.html | title = Colorado Municipal Incorporations | publisher = [[Colorado|State of Colorado]], Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives | date = December 1, 2004 | accessdate = September 2, 2007}}</ref>
|established_title3       = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
|established_date3        = <!-- Area    --------------------->
|area_magnitude           = 
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_08.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 1, 2020}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 1.60
|area_land_km2            = 1.60
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 0.62
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.62
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|area_water_percent       = 
|area_urban_km2           = 
|area_urban_sq_mi         = 
|area_metro_km2           = 
|area_metro_sq_mi         = 
|area_blank1_title        = 
|area_blank1_km2          = 
|area_blank1_sq_mi        = <!-- Population   ----------------------->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_note          = 
|population_total         = 601 <ref>{{cite web | url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US0858675 | title=Explore Census Data }}</ref>
|population_density_km2   = 375.63
|population_density_sq_mi = 
|population_metro         = 
|population_density_metro_km2     = 
|population_density_metro_sq_mi   = 
|population_urban                 = 
|population_density_urban_km2     = 
|population_density_urban_sq_mi   = 
|population_blank1_title          = 
|population_blank1                = 
|population_density_blank1_km2    = 
|population_density_blank1_sq_mi  = <!-- General information  --------------->
|timezone                 = [[Mountain Standard Time|MST]]
|utc_offset               = -7
|timezone_DST             = [[Mountain Daylight Time|MDT]]
|utc_offset_DST           = -6
|coordinates              = {{coord|39|8|27|N|104|4|58|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|accessdate=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|elevation_m              = 1822
|elevation_ft             = 5978
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]<ref name=ZIPcode>{{cite web|url = http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp | title = ZIP Code Lookup| format = [[JavaScript]]/[[HTML]] | publisher = [[United States Postal Service]] | accessdate=January 3, 2008}}</ref>
|postal_code              = 80835
|area_code                = [[Area code 719|719]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 08-70635
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = [http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:0193219 0193219]
|website                  = {{URL|townofsimla.com}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes =
|population_est =
}}

'''Simla''' is a [[Colorado municipalities#Statutory town|statutory town]] in [[Elbert County, Colorado|Elbert County]], [[Colorado]], United States. It is {{convert|48|mi}} northeast of [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]]. The population was 601 at the time of the [[2020 United States census]].

==History==
Simla was founded in 1909 by a man with the name of Altman. Simla was named because the daughter of a railroad official was reading a book about [[India]] when she came across the name, [[Shimla|Simla]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.usacitiesonline.com/cocountysimla.htm | title=Simla Colorado Profile and Resource Guide. Simla, Colorado Facts and Information }}</ref> Settled in the 1880s, Simla was incorporated in 1912. The first newspaper was started in 1911. It was a center for the shipping of the area's potato harvest each year.{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}}

Simla received national attention when it became the place where the first so-called "English Variant" of SARS-COV-2 (Covid-19 virus) was diagnosed in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Philipps|first=Dave|date=December 31, 2020|title=The Small Colorado Town Felt Insulated From the Pandemic. Then Came the Coronavirus Variant.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/us/simla-colorado-coronavirus-variant.html|access-date=November 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Geography==
Simla is located in southern Elbert County at {{coord|39|8|27|N|104|4|58|W|type:city}} (39.140746, -104.082836).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It lies to the south of Big Sandy Creek, an east-flowing tributary of the [[Arkansas River]]. [[U.S. Route 24]] passes through the town, leading southwest to Colorado Springs and northeast {{convert|24|mi}} to [[Limon, Colorado|Limon]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], Simla has a total area of {{convert|1.4|km2|order=flip}}, all of it land.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US0870635| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Simla town, Colorado| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| work=American Factfinder| accessdate=January 25, 2016| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213044903/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US0870635| archive-date=February 13, 2020| url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population|align=left
|1920= 387
|1930= 351
|1940= 421
|1950= 424
|1960= 450
|1970= 460
|1980= 494
|1990= 481
|2000= 663
|2010= 618
|2020= 601
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|date=May 24, 2020|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=May 27, 2020}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 663 people, 233 households, and 171 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|1,222.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 261 housing units at an average density of {{convert|481.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 94.27% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.45% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.96% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.30% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.21% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.81% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 3.62% of the population.

There were 233 households, out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.4% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $31,382, and the median income for a family was $31,953. Males had a median income of $28,250 versus $21,458 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $13,099. About 10.3% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

==Big Sandy High School==
Big Sandy High School in Simla has a tradition of athletic success. The Simla Cubs have won 11 team state championships:<ref name="CHSAA">[http://www.chsaa.org/ Colorado High School Activities Association].</ref> 5 football, 2 boys basketball, two girls basketball, two girls volleyball, and one boys track and field, as well as several individual state champions.

Notable athletes from Simla include [[Glenn Morris]], gold medal winner of the 1936 Olympic decathlon, as well as [[Barry Helton]], former professional football player in the [[NFL]].

==See also==
{{stack|{{portal||Colorado}}}}
* [[List of municipalities in Colorado]]

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Simla, Colorado}}
* {{official website|http://townofsimla.com/}}
* [http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/Simla.pdf CDOT map of Simla]

{{Elbert County, Colorado}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Elbert County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Towns in Colorado]]