Wiggins, Colorado
Wiggins is a statutory town in Morgan County, Colorado, United States, situated approximately one hour east of Denver along Interstate 76. With a population of 1,401 recorded in the 2020 census, the town has grown steadily from its earlier count of 893, reflecting modest but meaningful expansion in a region defined by its rural character and wide-open plains. Wiggins occupies a place in the agricultural heartland of northeastern Colorado, where small-town community life, historic landmarks, and a surprising connection to professional football have each contributed to its identity.
Geography and Location
Wiggins sits within Morgan County, one of the northeastern counties of Colorado that forms part of the High Plains region of the American West. The town lies along the South Platte River corridor, an area characterized by flat, expansive terrain well suited to agricultural use. Interstate 76 serves as the primary transportation artery connecting Wiggins to the Denver metropolitan area, placing the community roughly an hour from the state capital by highway.[1] Despite its proximity to one of the fastest-growing metropolitan regions in the United States, Wiggins has maintained its rural atmosphere, a quality that residents and observers frequently note as central to the town's appeal.
The surrounding landscape is typical of Colorado's eastern plains: vast stretches of agricultural land, minimal topographic relief, and sweeping skies that define the visual experience of the region. This environment has historically supported farming and ranching activity, industries that remain important to the local economy.
History
Settlement and Early Development
Like many communities along Colorado's northeastern plains, Wiggins developed as a result of agricultural settlement patterns that took hold in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The town's growth was closely tied to the availability of land and water along the South Platte River corridor, resources that drew farming families seeking to establish homesteads on the open range. Over time, the community that emerged became a recognizable fixture of Morgan County's rural landscape.
The Old Trail School
among the most historically significant surviving structures associated with Wiggins is the Old Trail School, described as Morgan County's only remaining original, one-room schoolhouse. Built in 1909, the schoolhouse stands as a direct physical connection to the early educational infrastructure of the region.[2] One-room schoolhouses were once widespread across rural Colorado and the broader American West, serving as the primary educational institutions for scattered farming and ranching communities. The survival of the Old Trail School into the modern era makes it a rare artifact of that era, preserving an architectural and cultural legacy that has largely disappeared elsewhere in the county.
The schoolhouse, located at an address in the Wiggins area, has attracted attention from local historians and preservation advocates interested in documenting and maintaining Morgan County's agricultural heritage. Its continued existence speaks to an interest within the community in honoring the early settlers who established the foundations of civic life in this part of Colorado.
Growth and Modern Development
The population data available for Wiggins illustrates a community that has experienced meaningful growth in recent decades. The jump from 893 residents to 1,401 between earlier census periods and the 2020 count represents a gain of more than fifty percent, a rate that outpaces many comparable rural communities in Colorado's eastern plains. Reports have noted the presence of new development within the town, suggesting that Wiggins has attracted some investment and residential growth even as many similarly sized rural communities across the American West have faced population decline.[3]
The factors driving this growth have not been exhaustively catalogued in available sources, but the town's position along a major interstate corridor and its relative proximity to Denver suggest that improved commuting patterns and regional economic activity may have contributed. The town's status as a statutory town under Colorado law defines its administrative structure, distinguishing it from home-rule municipalities with more expansive local governmental authority.
Education
Wiggins High School
Wiggins High School serves as the secondary educational institution for the community and surrounding area. Like many rural schools in Colorado, it functions as an important civic institution, providing not only academic instruction but also extracurricular programs including athletics that play a central role in community life. The school has been noted in connection with notable alumni who have gone on to careers at higher levels of athletic competition, bringing recognition to the town beyond its immediate region.
Records associated with Wiggins High School are maintained through various community and commemorative channels, reflecting the importance that residents place on honoring the school's legacy and its graduates.[4]
Notable People
Dalton Risner
The most prominent native of Wiggins in recent public awareness is Dalton Risner, an NFL offensive lineman who attended Wiggins High School before going on to play college football at Kansas State University. Risner, who stands 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 312 pounds, was drafted by the Denver Broncos and drew considerable media attention in the period leading up to and following his selection in the NFL Draft.[5]
Risner's connection to Wiggins was a recurring theme in coverage of his entry into professional football. His selection by the Broncos was reported to carry particular personal significance, given that Denver is the nearest major city to his hometown. As Risner noted publicly after his selection, the Broncos represented a dream destination for him, combining professional opportunity with proximity to his roots in Wiggins.[6] He described his connection to the organization in terms of both professional and personal meaning, referencing the significance of playing for a team based near his hometown: "Not only for this organization but for me and my household," he said, in remarks widely reported at the time of his joining the Broncos.[7]
Risner's path from Wiggins to the NFL drew attention to the town as an example of a small Colorado community producing competitive athletic talent. Coverage of his career frequently referenced his origins in Wiggins, framing the community as a backdrop to a story about ambition and professional achievement emerging from a rural setting. Reports noted that Wiggins is home to fewer than one thousand residents in some earlier population counts, making Risner's rise to the professional level all the more noteworthy in local and regional terms.[8]
Community Life
Wiggins operates as a tightly knit rural community in the tradition of Colorado's eastern plains towns. Community institutions including the local school, agricultural organizations, and civic groups form the backbone of social life in the area. The town's small size means that shared institutions — schools, local events, and community landmarks — carry significant weight in defining the character of everyday life.
The presence of the Old Trail School as a preserved historical landmark reflects a broader community orientation toward acknowledging and maintaining local history. In many small Colorado towns, the preservation of historical structures serves both practical and symbolic purposes, offering residents a tangible connection to the generations that established the community.
Local obituary records, maintained through services that track community history, reflect the ongoing civic memory of Wiggins and provide another layer of documentation for the town's residents and their contributions across generations.[9]
Transportation
Interstate 76 is the primary highway serving Wiggins, connecting the town to the Denver metropolitan area to the west and to communities further east along the South Platte River corridor. The approximately one-hour drive to Denver along I-76 makes the town accessible to the resources and employment opportunities of the state's largest metropolitan region while preserving its character as a distinct rural community. This transportation corridor has historically been important to the agricultural economy of northeastern Colorado, facilitating the movement of goods and people across the plains.
Demographics
The population of Wiggins was recorded at 1,401 in the 2020 census, an increase from 893 at an earlier counting period. This growth rate reflects a notable expansion for a rural Colorado plains community and has been accompanied by reported new development activity within the town. The community remains among the smaller statutory towns of Morgan County, maintaining the demographic profile of a rural agricultural settlement even as its population has risen.