O.Z.,_Colorado
Ramah, Colorado
Town in Colorado, United States
Ramah /ˈreɪmə/ is a Statutory Town in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The population was 111 as of the 2020 census.[5] According to tradition, the name is derived from India.[6]
Ramah, Colorado | |
|---|---|
Entering Ramah on Commercial Street. | |
Location of Ramah in El Paso County, Colorado. | |
| Coordinates: 39°7′19″N 104°9′57″W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Colorado |
| County[1] | El Paso |
| Incorporated (town) | July 18, 1927[2] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Statutory Town[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.25 sq mi (0.64 km2) |
| • Land | 0.25 sq mi (0.64 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,094 ft (1,864 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 111 |
| • Density | 440/sq mi (170/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP code | 80832 |
| Area code | 719 |
| FIPS code | 08-62660 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0203671 |
| Website | www |
The area was first settled in a place called Old Zounds, which was 27 miles southeast of Kiowa. The post office, called O.Z. because the applicant just used the initials, existed until at least 1881. The post office was moved from Old Zounds to nearby Ramah in 1889.[7][8]
Ramah began as a small railroading town along the Rock Island Railroad in the late 1800s. It was incorporated on July 18, 1927. During its peak, it was home to several hundred residents. Eventually, by the mid-1900s, the railroad was shut down, and Ramah suffered, since the railroad connected it to Colorado Springs, forty miles to the southwest. Despite its decline, Ramah continues to exist, with ranching as the mainstay of its economy.
Ramah is located at 39°7′19″N 104°9′57″W (39.121838, -104.165824).[9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2), all of it land.
- "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
- "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
- "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- United States Census Bureau. "Ramah town; Colorado". Retrieved April 24, 2023.
- Dawson, John Frank. Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 43.
- "Place Names of Colorado" (PDF). Denver Public Library. pp. 467, 516. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- "Place Names in Colorado (O)" (PDF). Colorado Magazine. Vol. 19, no. 3. May 1942. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.