These Are The 10 Cities In Colorado With The Most KKK Members


We measured the places in the Centennial State where there have historically been the most Klaverns per capita.

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This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.

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Do you live in one of the most racist cities in Colorado?

We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a hate crime that happens not that far away from us. Whether it’s the ‘white vs. black’ hate crime that we are so used to being part of America’s culture, or today’s hate crime (gay bashing), it never seems to end.

Hate groups can be hard to measure, because typically, there’s no record of where they exist. But there is data on where there were distinct Klaverns of the Ku Klux Klan in each state. We wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the data in order to identify the most racist cities in Colorado.

The result is the following list of the most racist cities in the Centennial State:

  1. Yampa
  2. Manzanola
  3. Simla
  4. Stratton
  5. Holly
  6. Haxtun
  7. Fairplay
  8. Ordway
  9. Fowler
  10. Elizabeth

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how Yampa end up as the most racist place in Colorado.

Or check out the most ghetto cities and the most dangerous cities in Colorado.

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How we calculated the most racist cities in Colorado

While there are surveys and public polls on what places might be the most racist, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from where KKK organizations have existed.

Specifically, we analyzed research out of Virginia Commonwealth University that mapped the Klans in each area and gave a history of their recruitment from 1915-1940.

This report is an analysis of the locations of historic KKK organizations divided by the number of people who currently live there.

There were a total of 48 cities with at least 1 Klavern in Colorado during the time period of reference.

A quick history lesson on the KKK

What is the KKK? In a nutshell, the KKK was formed back in 1865, and there have been three separate movements, all three of which were supposedly ‘purification movements’ in America. The 1865-1870s movement sought to overthrow Republican state governments.

The second movement (1915 – 1944) saw millions of members of the KKK form, which was opposed to immigration into America, especially against Catholics and Jews.

The most memorable movement of the KKK started in the 1950s, which was involved in the Civil Rights movement, and which targeted the black population in America.

The number of active members of the KKK is much smaller these days.

At the Klan’s height, there were 51 active Kalverns in Colorado.

The cities below are the places where there were Klans back in the day, and where the number of Klans per the current population is high. Meaning, the number of racist members of the community has historically been the highest, according to the math.

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1. Yampa


Population: 370
Klaverns: 1

2. Manzanola


Population: 385
Klaverns: 1

3. Simla


Population: 568
Klaverns: 1

4. Stratton


Population: 630
Klaverns: 1

5. Holly


Population: 845
Klaverns: 1

6. Haxtun


Population: 899
Klaverns: 1

7. Fairplay


Population: 929
Klaverns: 1

8. Ordway


Population: 1,159
Klaverns: 1

9. Fowler


Population: 1,184
Klaverns: 1

10. Elizabeth


Population: 1,270
Klaverns: 1

There You Have It

When you’re looking at the places in Colorado with the highest number of KKK Klaverns per capita back in the day, this is an accurate list.

Below is a chart which lists all cities in Colorado with KKK organizations from 1915-1940.
For more Colorado reading , check out:

Detailed List Of The Most Racist Cities In Colorado

City Rank Population No. of Historical Klaverns
Yampa 1 370 1
Manzanola 2 385 1
Simla 3 568 1
Stratton 4 630 1
Holly 5 845 1
Haxtun 6 899 1
Fairplay 7 929 1
Ordway 8 1,159 1
Fowler 9 1,184 1
Elizabeth 10 1,270 1
Paonia 11 1,351 1
Byers 12 1,361 1
Mancos 13 1,461 1
Akron 14 1,906 1
Center 15 2,077 1
Holyoke 16 2,339 1
Bayfield 17 2,435 1
Wray 18 2,554 1
Meeker 19 2,562 1
Buena Vista 20 2,675 1
Walsenburg 21 2,959 1
Florence 22 3,875 1
Rocky Ford 23 3,925 1
Trinidad 24 8,657 2
Edgewater 25 5,217 1
Salida 26 5,329 1
Milliken 27 5,837 1
Eagle 28 6,511 1
La Junta 29 7,040 1
Delta 30 8,801 1
Rifle 31 9,397 1
Fort Morgan 32 11,397 1
Sterling 33 14,709 1
Durango 34 17,268 1
Lafayette 35 25,812 1
Brighton 36 35,004 1
Littleton 37 43,710 1
Castle Rock 38 51,802 1
Grand Junction 39 59,731 1
Loveland 40 70,093 1
Longmont 41 88,547 1
Greeley 42 95,677 1
Boulder 43 102,002 1
Pueblo 44 107,706 1
Arvada 45 109,800 1
Fort Collins 46 149,627 1
Colorado Springs 47 433,547 2
Denver 48 633,777 2