Fraser was incorporated in 1953. A post office called Fraser has been in operation since 1876. The town derives its name from Reuben Frazer, a pioneer settler.
Geography
Fraser is located in southeastern Grand County at , at an elevation of above sea level. It is bordered to the south by the town of Winter Park and to the north by unincorporated Tabernash. U.S. Route 40 leads south and east across Berthoud Pass to Denver, and northwest to Granby, the largest town in Grand County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which, or 0.14%, is water. The Fraser River passes through the east side of town, flowing north toward the Colorado River.
Climate
Fraser, with an annual mean temperature of is the coldest incorporated town in the lower 48 states. It also has the shortest growing season with an average of only 4 to 7 days and can and does get frost year-round, totaling over 300 nights under, rivalled only by Utqiagvik, Alaska, among currently inhabited localities in the United States. The total of 79 nights under is also among the highest in the contiguous 48 states, but the 72 days with highs not topping freezing is exceeded by substantial areas of North Dakota, Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Both Fraser and International Falls, Minnesota, have claimed the title "Icebox of the Nation", which has caused conflict between the two towns over the years. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Fraser has a subalpine climate, abbreviated Dfc on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Fraser is on August 1, 1969, and the coldest on January 10, 1962. The wettest calendar year has been 1957 with and the driest 1944 with, whilst the most precipitation in one month has been in September 1961. Snowfall is naturally heavy at and has ranged up to in February 1936 and from July 1926 to June 1927. A freeze has been recorded for every single date of the year, one of the only locations in the entire United States to hold that record.
As of the census of 2000, there were 910 people, 410 households, and 191 families residing in the town. The population density was 491.1 people per square mile. There were 622 housing units at an average density of 335.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 94.51% White, 0.88% African American, 0.88% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.30% of the population. There were 410 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.2% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.2% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.71. In the town, the population was spread out, with 17.9% under the age of 18, 14.2% from 18 to 24, 46.2% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 3.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 129.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $38,173, and the median income for a family was $39,643. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $26,346 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,628. About 11.1% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
