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About Ridgway:

Ridgway began as a railroad town, serving the nearby mining towns of Telluride and
Ouray, pronounced yu-ray. The town site sits at the northern terminus of the Rio Grande
Southern Railroad where it meets with Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad running
between Montrose and Ouray. Ridgway was located about 3 miles (5 km) south of the
existing town of Dallas. Articles of incorporation were filed on 22 May 1890 and granted on
4 March 1891. Ridgway was named after Denver and Rio Grande Railroad superintendent
Robert M. Ridgway.

The Rio Grande Southern filed for abandonment on 24 April 1952 and the Denver and Rio
Grande Western abandoned the line between Ridgway and Ouray on 21 March 1953. The
line between Ridgway and Montrose was upgraded from narrow gauge to standard gauge
and Ridgway continued to be a shipping point until the line to Montrose was abandoned in
1976 as result of a reservoir being built on the Uncompahgre River.

Geographical:

Ridgway is located at 38°9′7″N, 107°45′25″W (38.151934, -107.756870)GR1, at an
altitude of 6900 feet.

Demographics:

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 713 people, 285 households, and 190 families
residing in the town. The population density was 137.6/km² (356.1/mi²). There were 318
housing units at an average density of 61.4/km² (158.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the
town was 94.25% White, 1.82% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.70% from other races,
and 2.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.77% of the
population.

There were 285 households out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with
them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of
individuals and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The
average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to
24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.6% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 102.0 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,903, and the median income for a
family was $45,208. Males had a median income of $31,597 versus $26,250 for females.
The per capita income for the town was $20,084. About 3.2% of families and 4.3% of the
population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and none of
those age 65 or over.

Residence:

Among Ridgway's population there are an assortment of recognizable and famous people.

1) Charles W. "Charlie" Ergen (born May 1, 1953) is the co-founder and CEO of EchoStar
Communications Corporation, the parent company of Dish Network.

2) Ralph Lauren (born Ralph Lifschitz on October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer
and business executive.

3) William Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 — February 24, 2006) was an Emmy Award-
winning actor and was an American television actor, best known for his roles as sidekick
Chester Goode from 1955 to 1964 on TV's first "adult Western" Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam
McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, which ran from 1970 to 1977, and as the
protagonist in Steven Spielberg's feature-length directorial debut, the cult TV movie Duel in
1971. He attended the University of Oklahoma, where he studied drama and also was a
track star, setting records in several events. He served as a pilot in the United States Navy
during the Second World War.

ABOUT: RIDGWAY, COLORADO

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