Paonia is a statutory town in Delta County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,447 at the 2020 census.

History

The area was first explored by a white man of European descent in 1853, Captain John W. Gunnison of the United States Army. Gunnison was on an expedition for the Corps of Topographical Engineers to locate a suitable pass through the Rocky Mountains. The North Fork Valley was inhabited by the Ute people until 1880, when the Ute Indian Reservation was closed by the federal government following the infamous Meeker Massacre. Following the closure of the reservation, the site was settled in 1880 by Samuel Wade and William Clark, who had accompanied Enos Hotchkiss to the area. The town was officially incorporated in 1902 and had its first election in July of that year. The peony roots that Samuel Wade brought with him to Colorado in 1881 inspired him to submit the Latin name for peony, Paeonia, as a town name. The post office would not allow the extra vowel, so "Paeonia" became "Paonia". The full name of the flower is Paeonia mascula.

Geography

Paonia is located in eastern Delta County. It is situated on the North Fork Gunnison River ("North Fork River"), about 10 mi northeast of (upstream from) neighboring Hotchkiss. It lies near the head of the North Fork Valley, an area about 150 mi by air southwest of Denver. The valley lies at the foot of 11396 ft Mount Lamborn to the southeast and the Grand Mesa to the northwest. Colorado State Highway 133 touches the northwest boundary of Paonia as the highway runs up the North Fork Valley; it leads southwest 9 mi to Hotchkiss and northeast 58 mi over McClure Pass to Carbondale. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Paonia has a total area of 2.2 km2, all of it land.

Demographics

Economy

Coal mining

The valley's principal coal mines are all now closed except for Arch Coal's West Elk Mine, Bucyrus International, a supplier of underground coal mining equipment, operates a small warehouse in Paonia for support of the underground longwall systems that are operating in the North Fork valley. Union Pacific provides service to the mine, loading 100 car trains in two hours. The most recent mine closure shuttered Bowie #2 Mine. The community has mounted legal challenges to proposed oil and gas drilling fracking in the surrounding North Fork Valley.

Agriculture

The area around Paonia is known for its orchards which produce peaches, apples, cherries, pears, and plums. In addition, several vineyards and wineries have been established in the area, and are some of the highest wineries in North America. Five of the more well-known wineries are Alfred Eames Winery, Black Bridge Winery, Stone Cottage Cellars, Azura Cellars, and Endless Endeavor Winery. This is one of the few regions of Colorado that has successfully cultivated and bottled a pinot noir. The Paonia wineries are part of the West Elk Wineries Trail and annual Tour held the second week of June. Some of Colorado's best livestock also comes from this region. The livestock includes cattle, sheep, poultry, and pigs.

Schools

The Delta County School District Board of Education decided in February 2021 to close separate high schools in Paonia and Hotchkiss, Colorado, and build a joint high school, North Fork High School, located in Hotchkiss. Both schools have been losing students as coal mines in the area have closed. Kindergarten to 8th grade education will continue in both communities.

Media

The noted Western newspaper, High Country News, is based in Paonia. High Country News reports on the western United States and is focused on the environment, land use, and public lands issues. Community radio station KVNF was founded in Paonia and continues to have studios in downtown Paonia. KVNF also now serves a number of towns in the North Fork and Uncompaghre valleys in western Colorado through a network of stations and translators. Paonia does not have a local newspaper. It is served by The North Fork Times, formerly an independent paper and now a section in the Delta County Independent. The area is also served by the monthly North Fork Merchant Herald, published in nearby Hotchkiss. The weekly Mountain Valley News was published in Cedaredge and distributed widely throughout Delta County, but closed in September 2013. Their sister publication, The High Country Shopper, is published in Paonia.

Climate

Paonia has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with hot summers and moderately cold winters. On average, Paonia has 246 sunny days per year. Paonia averages 14 inches of rain and 53 inches of snow per year. The average July high is 89 °F and the average January low is 14 °F.

Festivities

Paonia Cherry Days Festival

Paonia celebrates its "Cherry Days" festival annually on the week of July 4. It features parades, family and class reunions, games, arts and crafts, and musical performances. Paonia Cherry Days is one of the longest running outdoor festivals in Colorado. Started by the Paonia Lions Club in 1946, the festival continues to be run by community volunteers.

Mountain Harvest Festival

The Mountain Harvest Festival is a three-day event in downtown Paonia held during the last weekend of September. There are over 20 musical acts, poetry, an art show, a chili cook off, a street dance, crafts, wine tasting, as well as classes on canning, raising livestock, and sustainable living.

Rainbow Gathering

In 1992 the annual Rainbow Gathering was held at nearby Overland Reservoir. An estimated 18,275 people converged on the site and lived in temporary dwellings for the summer. Although the reservoir is 27 mi from Paonia, it had a significant impact on all the towns in the North Fork Valley, including Paonia. Many "New Agers" and members of the psychedelic community continue to reside in and around Paonia, which was the boyhood home of one of the voices and key figures of "ecstatic state" knowledge, Terence McKenna.

Paonia Film Festival

The Paradise Theater in downtown Paonia hosts a biennial film festival. The Paonia Film Festival celebrates the beauty of the Western Colorado landscape and the rich stories of the people who live there. The 2021 Paonia Film Festival shifted to showcase filmmakers local to the Western Slope of Colorado and filmmakers through the Western United States on a two-tier system. The event was on November 6–7, 2021.

Pickin' in the Park

The town has live music in the park every Thursday evening during the month of August.

Notable people