Fremont County, Colorado

Fremont County is a county in Colorado, United States, in the south-central part of the state,
about 45 miles southwest of Colorado Springs. It had a population of 48,939 at the 2020 census, an
estimated 50,039 by 2025, and covers 1,533 square miles (3,970 km2) centred near 38°29′N 105°26′W.

Cañon City is the county seat; its postal code is 81212. The county holds 2 cities, 4
incorporated towns and 6 census-designated communities across the county, and it runs on Mountain
Time. Its FIPS code is 08043.

Towns & Villages in Fremont County

Fremont County has 12 named places on the current Census Bureau record: 2 incorporated cities,
4 incorporated towns and 6 census-designated places (CDPs) with no local government of their own.
CDP covers a defined community boundary without incorporation.

Earlier lists for this page carried dozens of 19th-century mining-camp names — Galena,
Whitehorn, Sikes, Sample and others — that no longer appear on any current Census Bureau or
USPS record and are not carried forward here. One is worth flagging directly: Buckskin Joe was not
a settlement but a Western movie set and tourist attraction 8 miles west of Cañon City, built in
1957 and used in more than 21 films before closing in 2010; its buildings were later moved to a
private ranch near Gunnison. A separate, unrelated 19th-century mining camp of the same name sits
in neighboring Park County.

ZIP Codes

• 81212 — Cañon City (also covers Lincoln Park, Park Center and Brookside)
• 81215 — Cañon City (a secondary Cañon City ZIP)
• 81226 — Florence (also covers Williamsburg)
• 81240 — Penrose
• 81233 — Howard
• 81244 — Rockvale
• 81221 — Coal Creek
• 81222 — Coaldale
• 81223 — Cotopaxi

Lincoln Park, Park Center and Brookside have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered
under the Cañon City code, and Williamsburg is served from the Florence post office.

Geography

Fremont County straddles the Arkansas River valley where it drops out of the Rocky Mountains
onto Colorado’s high plains. Of the county’s 1,533 square miles of land, the eastern third around
Cañon City and Florence is rolling foothill country near 5,300 feet elevation, while the western
third climbs into the Sangre de Cristo Range and San Isabel National Forest above 10,000 feet.
The Arkansas River cuts through the Royal Gorge, a canyon roughly 1,250 feet deep, on its way east
through the county; Skyline Drive, a narrow ridge road built by prison inmates and opened in 1905,
tops a hogback overlooking Cañon City. Water covers only about 0.06 percent of the county’s area,
so there are no large natural lakes.

Teller County lies to the north, El Paso County to the northeast, Pueblo County to the
southeast, Custer County to the south, Saguache County to the southwest, and Chaffee and Park
Counties to the northwest. Teller
County, Custer County, Saguache County, Chaffee County and Park County all have their own pages on this
site; El Paso and Pueblo Counties do not.

Demographics

Fremont County had a population of 48,939 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 50,039 residents. Cañon City and Lincoln Park, its adjoining CDP, together hold close
to half the county’s population, with Florence and Penrose the next largest communities.
Colorado’s statewide median household income is $92,911 (2023 ACS); Fremont County, whose economy
leans on public-sector corrections jobs and lower-wage tourism and retail work, runs below that
state figure. Population density works out to about 32 people per square mile of land, sparse for
Colorado’s Front Range corridor and a reflection of how much of the county’s western half sits in
national forest.

Economy & Local Life

Corrections is the county’s defining industry: Colorado’s Department of Corrections runs
several state prisons in and around Cañon City, including the Colorado Territorial Correctional
Facility, Colorado State Penitentiary and Fremont Correctional Facility, and the federal Bureau of
Prisons operates the Federal Correctional Complex, Florence, home to ADX Florence, the nation’s
only federal supermax prison. As of 2015, researchers cited Fremont County as having the highest
share of its population incarcerated of any county in the United States. Tourism is the county’s
other major sector, centred on the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, the Royal Gorge Route Railroad
along the Arkansas River, and whitewater rafting outfitters based in Cañon City and Cotopaxi.
Penrose is home to the Estes Industries model rocket factory, giving the town its local nickname
as the model rocket capital of the world. Florence carries a small downtown antiques trade, and
its Downtown Florence Historic District joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

History

Fremont County was created on 1 November 1861 by the first Colorado Territorial Legislature,
one of the territory’s original 17 counties, and named for John C. Frémont, the 19th-century
explorer and 1856 Republican presidential candidate who led survey expeditions through the
region. Cañon City was settled in 1860 during the Pike’s Peak gold rush and incorporated on 3
April 1872; Florence’s post office opened in 1873 and the town incorporated in 1887, growing
around three railroads that served nearby coal mines and, after an 1862 oil strike nearby, around
one of the first commercial oil operations west of the Mississippi River.

The county’s best-known historical dispute is the Royal Gorge War of 1878–79, when the
Denver and Rio Grande and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads both raced to lay track
through the narrow gorge west of Cañon City. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the Denver and Rio
Grande in April 1879, and the two companies settled the following year when the Denver and Rio
Grande paid the Santa Fe $1.8 million for the grade work it had already built. The Royal Gorge
Bridge, then the highest bridge in the world at 955 feet above the river, opened on 8 December
1929 as a tourist attraction rather than a transportation link.

Getting There

U.S. Route 50 runs the length of Fremont County east to west, following the Arkansas River; no
interstate highway crosses the county. Colorado Highways 9, 67, 69, 115 and 120 connect the
smaller towns to US 50.

• Colorado Springs — about 45 miles northeast
• Pueblo — about 35 miles southeast
• Salida — about 60 miles west
• Denver — about 115 miles north

Cañon City has no scheduled commercial air service; the nearest commercial airport is Colorado
Springs Airport, roughly an hour’s drive northeast. Amtrak does not serve Fremont County; the
closest station is in Pueblo. The Royal Gorge Route Railroad runs excursion trains along the
Arkansas River but does not offer scheduled point-to-point service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Fremont County located?
It sits in south-central Colorado along the Arkansas River, about 45 miles southwest of Colorado
Springs, bordered by Teller, El Paso, Pueblo, Custer, Saguache, Chaffee and Park Counties.

What is the population of Fremont County?
48,939 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 50,039.

How big is Fremont County?
1,533 square miles (3,970 km2) of land, plus about 0.9 square miles of water.

What is the county seat of Fremont County?
Cañon City, incorporated in 1872, is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and villages are in Fremont County?
Twelve named places: the cities of Cañon City and Florence; the towns of Brookside, Coal Creek,
Rockvale and Williamsburg; and six census-designated places — Coaldale, Cotopaxi, Howard,
Lincoln Park, Park Center and Penrose.

What ZIP codes does Fremont County use?
81212 and 81215 for Cañon City; 81226 for Florence and Williamsburg; 81240 for Penrose; 81233 for
Howard; 81244 for Rockvale; 81221 for Coal Creek; 81222 for Coaldale; and 81223 for Cotopaxi.

What is Fremont County known for?
The Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, and a dense concentration of state and federal prisons around
Cañon City and Florence, including the federal supermax ADX Florence.

More counties in this state: Towns
and villages in Colorado.