Messex, Colorado is a virtual ghost town in Washington County, Colorado. Its population in the 2010 census was 2, but has been several hundred in the past. Settled in the 1860s as a "Wild West" town, it became for a time a place where German immigrants grew sugar beets. In the 1990s, the population was about a dozen people, but it had declined to just 2 people by 2010.[2]

Messex, Colorado
Messex, Colorado is located in Colorado
Messex, Colorado
Messex, Colorado
Location within the state of Colorado
Coordinates: 40°25′45″N 103°26′11″W / 40.42917°N 103.43639°W / 40.42917; -103.43639[1]
Country United States
State State of Colorado
CountyWashington County
Elevation
4,088 ft (1,246 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total2
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)

The community was named for Joe Messex, a railroad official.[3]

References

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  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Messex, Colorado
  2. ^ "A One-Horse Town Down to Two People".
  3. ^ Dawson, John Frank (1954). 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. 35.