Orchard City

History

In the early 20th century, because residents in the area were getting sick from drinking ditch water, three small communities (Austin, Cory, and Eckert) agreed to consolidate in order to be able to raise enough money to build a water pipeline. Thus Orchard City was incorporated in 1912, but even to this day it's more common for people to refer to one of the three specific communities within the boundaries of Orchard City. The community was named for an orchard near the original town site.

Geography

Orchard City is located in central Delta County at (38.816360, -107.976951). Colorado State Highway 65 passes through the town, leading southwest to Delta, the county seat, and northeast to the town of Cedaredge. Eckert is in the northern part of the town, and Cory is in the southwest, both along Highway 65. Austin is in the southeast corner of the town, on the north side of Colorado State Highway 92, which leads west to Delta and east to Hotchkiss. According to the United States Census Bureau, Orchard City has a total area of , of which , or 0.06%, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,460
• American Coot

  Fulica americana Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  2,109
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,744
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,661
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,644
• Sandhill crane

  Grus canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,480
• Western Grebe

  Aechmophorus occidentalis (Lawrence, 1858) · Aves
  1,314
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,274

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2026-06-06
  10 km NE of Redstone, Colorado
• M 2.8 — 2026-03-23
  29 km WNW of De Beque, Colorado
• M 2.6 — 2026-02-06
  12 km S of Mulford, Colorado
• M 3.2 — 2025-04-03
  34 km W of Delta, Colorado
• M 2.6 — 2023-01-06
  6 km NNW of Chacra, Colorado
• M 2.5 — 2021-06-02
  26 km WNW of Delta, Colorado