Fraser, Colorado

The first settlement at what is now Fraser began in 1904, in anticipation of the arrival of the Moffat Railroad as that was then being built under the Continental Divide through Moffat Tunnel to the east.

The first developer of the location high on the western bank of the Fraser River was one George Eastom and he named the site after himself. An earlier settler in the area was one Rueben Frazier but the river the town was sited along was known as the Fraser River. When it came time for the Postal Service to grant a new post office, they decided the name should be Fraser and that's how it has been ever since. Being located to the northwest of all the ski-resort-related development in Winter Park, Fraser is now home to several new condominium and other real estate developments.

A scene in downtown Fraser

Fraser was a center for the local timber industry until the Roosevelt National Forest headquarters was moved to Hot Sulphur Springs in 1915. The local ranger station was moved to Idlewild that same year.

Fraser is rather famous as being one of the two coldest incorporated towns in the 48 contiguous states (the other being International Falls, Minnesota). Depending on which weather reporting station you consult, the average growing season in Fraser runs between 4 and 7 days... the town can and does often see frost on virtually every other day of the year. Depending on which weather station you consult, the average annual mean temperature is either 32.5°F or 34.8°F.

Near Fraser is the Cozens Ranch Museum, a historical site commemorating a homestead first settled in 1874. The first settlers arrived in the area in 1871.