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 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.
Geography
Thornton is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, is land and is water.
Demographics
As of the 2010 census, there were 118,772 people, 41,359 households, and 30,254 families living in the city. The population density was 3,409.1 people per square mile. There were 43,230 housing units at an average density of 1,240.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 77.4% White, 4.4% Asian, 1.8% African American, 1.1% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 11.4% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 31.7% of the population. There were 41,359 households out of which 43.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a male householder with no wife present, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86, and the average family size was 3.32. The distribution of the population by age was 29.5% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.0 years. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female. The median income for a household in the city was $65,578, and the median income for a family was $74,233. Males had a median income of $49,154 versus $39,596 for females. The city's per capita income was $26,100. About 7.8% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.
Recreation
Thornton has 81 city parks and nearly of parks and open space. There are over of trails throughout the city. Recreational facilities include the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center and the Thornton Community Center. Golf courses include the Thorncreek Golf Course and Todd Creek Golf.
Thornton is served primarily by three school districts: , , and Brighton School District 27J. These include: Eight high schools, eleven middle schools and twenty elementary schools. There are also several charter schools in or near Thornton, including Stargate School, Colorado Virtual Academy, New America School, Westgate Community Charter School. Lord of Life Lutheran School is a Christian Pre-K-8 school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Thornton. Thornton has several libraries and is served by the Rangeview Library District, also known as Anythink Libraries.
