Maybell is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in and governed by Moffat County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Craig, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The Maybell post office has the ZIP Code 81640. At the 2020 census, the population of the Maybell CDP was 76. The coldest ambient air temperature ever recorded in the state of Colorado was -61 F at Maybell on February 1, 1985.

History

The village, founded in the 1880s, was named after May Bell, the wife of a local cattleman. Contrary to folk legends, the town was not named after his prized dairy cow. It currently consists of a meat processing plant, general store with gas pumps, a garage, an elementary school, a residential hotel, a restaurant, a post office, and housing. The post office has been in operation since 1884.

Geography

Maybell is located in central Moffat County, in the valley of the Yampa River along U.S. Highway 40. Craig is 30 mi east along US 40, and Dinosaur is 57 mi to the west. State Highway 318 leads northwest from Maybell 61 mi to the Utah border, passing Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge. The Maybell CDP has an area of 0.525 sqmi, all land.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. The climate of Maybell is a humid continental climate (Dfb). The coldest ambient air temperature ever recorded in the State of Colorado was -61 F at Maybell on February 1, 1985.

Demographics

The United States Census Bureau initially defined the Maybell CDP for the United States Census 2010.