Kokomo, Colorado
{{short description|Ghost town in Summit County, Colorado}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Kokomo
|official_name =
|settlement_type = Mining ghost town
|nickname =
|motto =
|image_skyline = Kokomo, Colorado historical marker.JPG
|imagesize = 250px
|image_caption = The Kokomo historical marker along State Highway 91
|image_flag =
|image_seal =
|pushpin_map = USA Colorado
|pushpin_label_position =
|pushpin_map_caption = Location within the state of Colorado
|pushpin_mapsize =
|image_map =
|map_caption = Location within Summit county
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Colorado
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Summit
|government_footnotes =
|government_type =
|leader_title =
|leader_name =
|leader_title1 =
|leader_name1 =
|established_title =
|established_date =
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes =
|area_magnitude =
|area_total_km2 =
|area_land_km2 =
|area_water_km2 =
|population_as_of = 2010
|population_footnotes =
|population_total = 0
|population_density_km2 = auto
|timezone = Mountain (MST)
|utc_offset = -7
|timezone_DST = MDT
|utc_offset_DST = -6
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_ft = 10695
|coordinates = {{coord|39|25|27|N|106|11|23|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type = ZIP codes
|area_code =
|blank_name = FIPS code
|blank_info =
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info = 179601{{cite gnis|id=179601 |name=Kokomo, Colorado|date=13 October 1978|accessdate=10 March 2020}}
|website =
|footnotes =
}}
Kokomo is a silver- and gold-mining ghost town in Summit County, in the U.S. state of Colorado.{{GNIS|179601|name=Kokomo (historical)}} Before being depopulated in the 1960s, Kokomo was at its height home to over 10,000 people.{{cite web|url=https://kekbfm.com/colorado-mining-towns-i-wanna-take-you-to-kokomo/|title=Colorado Mining Towns: I Wanna Take You to Kokomo|work=99.9 KEKB|last=Taylor|first=Jack|date=23 January 2019|access-date=10 March 2020}}
History
The community took its name from nearby Kokomo Gulch which was named after Kokomo, Indiana. Some placer gold was discovered in the 1860s, but intensive mining did not begin until after the sharp increase of mining at Leadville in 1877.{{cite web|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=107969|title=Kokomo Masonic Lodge|work=Historical Marker Database|date=6 September 2017|access-date=11 March 2020}} A post office called Kokomo was established in 1879, and remained in operation until 1965.{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?state=CO | title=Post offices | publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | accessdate=29 June 2016}} A neighboring community, Recen, was heavily intertwined with Kokomo. The original town constructed of wood burned in 1879.{{cite web|url=https://www.ghosttowns.com/states/co/kokomo.html|title=KOKOMO and RACEN|work=Ghosttowns.com|access-date=10 March 2020}} The town burned again in 1881, marking the beginning of decline and resulting in a merger with the community of Recen. Also in 1881, the first Free Mason meeting was held, and a lodge was opened in 1882. A historical marker near the old townsite recognizes the lodge, which was existent until 1966.
In the 1890s, Kokomo was at the highest elevation (10,618 feet) of any incorporated town in the state.{{cite book|last=Dawson|first=John Frank|title=Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051116740;view=1up;seq=36|publisher=The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co.|location=Denver, CO|page=30}} The town reached zero population in the 1960s when the land was bought by Climax Molybdenum Company to use as a tailings dump.{{Cite web|url=http://www.westernmininghistory.com/towns/colorado/kokomo|title=Kokomo Colorado|website=www.westernmininghistory.com|access-date=2016-09-07}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Summit County, Colorado}}
Category:Ghost towns in Colorado
Category:Former populated places in Summit County, Colorado
Category:Geography of Summit County, Colorado
{{Colorado-geo-stub}}