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 Midway
between Denver and Colorado Springs, Castle Rock
encompasses 33 square miles and sits in the East
Plum Creek Valley at the base of the Rocky Mountains
at an elevation of 6,202 feet. The Town is traversed
by Interstate 25, is home to the Outlets at Castle
Rock and is the seat of Douglas County. Our climate
is known as among the nation's best, with more than
300 days of sunshine.
Castle Rock was founded in 1874
when the eastern Douglas County border was redrawn
to its present location. Castle Rock was chosen
as the county seat because of its central location.
The
region in and around Castle Rock was originally
home to Native Americans of the Arapahoe and Cheyenne
tribes. They occupied the land between the Arkansas
and South Platte Rivers. White settlers were drawn
by rumors of gold and by land opened through the
Homestead Act of 1862.
One
of the first settlers in the area near today's Castle
Rock was the original homesteader, Jeremiah Gould.
He owned about 160 acres to the south of "The
(Castle) Rock." At that time, the settlement
consisted of just a few buildings for prospectors,
workers, and cowboys. In 1874 Jeremiah Gould donated
120 acres to the new town that was also now home
to the Douglas County government. For the beginning
the six streets named Elbert, Jerry, Wilcox, Perry,
Castle and Front were laid out to build the actual
town of Castle Rock. The Courthouse Square was defined
and about 77 lots, each 50 by 112 feet, were auctioned
off for a total profit of US$3,400.00 - a lot of
money at that time!
 It
was not gold that put Castle Rock onto the map.
The discovery of Rhyolite stone made the reason
to build a settlement that would become Castle Rock.
A
new train depot brought the Denver and Rio Grande
Railway to the area. The depot building now houses
the Castle Rock Historical Museum on Elbert Street,
where visitors can see history of how Castle Rock
changed over the years. Castle Rock currently encompasses
about 35 square miles, with a population of more
than 42,000 in town and 70,000 in the surrounding
area.
Until
cancelled in 2007, The INTERNATIONAL PGA TOUR tournament
used to be held every August in Castle Rock at the
Castle Pines Golf Club.
As
of the 2000 census, there are over 20,224 people,
7,226 households, and 5,542 families residing in
the town. The population density was 639.9mi. There
were 7,447 housing units at an average density of
235.6m. The racial makeup of the town was 93.85%
White, 0.47% Black or African American, 0.62% Native
American, 1.10% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.86%
from other races, and 2.04% from two or more races.
6.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino
of any race.
 There
are over 7,226 households out of which 45.7% had
children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.3%
were married couples living together, 8.2% had a
female householder with no husband present, and
23.3% were non-families. 17.6% of all households
were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone
living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The
average household size was 2.78 and the average
family size was 3.18.
In the town the population was spread out with 31.6%
under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 38.2% from
25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were
65 years of age or older. The median age was 32
years. For every 100 females there were 101.0 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were
97.6 males.
The median
income for a household in the town was $64,138,
and the median income for a family was $72,563.
Males had a median income of $47,626 versus $32,328
for females. The per capita income for the town
was $26,760. About 2.5% of families and 3.6% of
the population were below the poverty line, including
3.2% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age
65 or over.
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