Fountain

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 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 ranch, the H2O Ranch in Custer County, for $3.5 million. The city was interested in the prime water rights on the property totaling 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 after the water courts have made their decisions.…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.99%, are water. The eponymous Fountain Creek flows south through the city.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  15,463
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  15,396
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,724
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,485
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  12,332
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  12,311
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,854
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  10,958

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2026-01-08
  21 km ESE of Colorado City, Colorado
• M 3 — 2025-10-17
  11 km NNE of Black Forest, Colorado
• M 2.5 — 2021-06-26
  19 km WNW of Cañon City, Colorado
• M 2.9 — 2016-08-24
  16 km ENE of Beulah Valley, Colorado
• M 2.6 — 2013-09-24
  6 km NNE of Cotopaxi, Colorado
• M 2.6 — 2008-10-26
  8 km NNE of Colorado City, Colorado