Thornton consisted solely of farmland until 1953, when Sam Hoffman purchased a lot off Washington Street about seven miles north of Denver. The town he laid out was the first fully planned community in Adams County and the first to offer full municipal services from a single tax levy, including recreation services and free trash pickup. Thornton was named in honor of Former Colorado GovernorDan Thornton.
The Thornton Community Association (TCA) was formed in 1954 to help guide the new community's development. By the end of 1955, Thornton had 5,500 residents in over 1,200 homes. The TCA was instrumental in Thornton's 1956 incorporation as a city. Oyer G. Leary was elected the first mayor.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.2 square miles (70.4 km²), of which, 26.9 square miles (69.6 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (1.25%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 82,384 people, 28,882 households, and 21,517 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,066.7 people per square mile (1,184.2/km²). There were 29,573 housing units at an average density of 1,100.9/sq mi (425.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.34% of the population.
There were 28,882 households out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.0% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 36.0% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $54,445, and the median income for a family was $58,742. Males had a median income of $40,098 versus $29,982 for females. The per capita income for the city was $41,471. About 4.0% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
Thornton City Council candidate Brian Thornton is unrelated to the City of Thornton creation in 1954
Thornton has several shopping areas such as Larkridge Mall, Thornton Town Center, and Thorncreek Crossing Shopping Center. Larkridge is home to national anchor tenants, big box retailers, restaurants, and has a pedestrian village. Larkridge is anchored by Colorado's first Sears Grand store, Dick's Sporting Goods, Bed, Bath & Beyond, PetsMart and others.
