Wiladel

Wiladel, Colorado is a vanished or nearly vanished rural locality in eastern Washington County, remembered mainly as a former school and community center on the short‑grass prairie west of Cope. It survives today as a historic name on maps, in county histories, and in the memories of local residents rather than as an active town.

History

Wiladel emerged in the homesteading era of the early 1900s as farm and ranch country filled in between Cope and other small Washington County points. The first Wiladel school (District 68) was built in 1916 about eight miles west of Cope and four miles north of U.S. 36, marking the community’s recognition as a distinct rural neighborhood with its own school district and social focus. Standard county summaries list Wiladel among early communities but do not explain the exact origin of the name. Wiladel never grew into an incorporated town; its “population” consisted of scattered farm families sending children to the Wiladel school and gathering there for community events. At its peak in the early to mid‑20th century, the area would have counted only a few dozen residents within school‑district reach, and today Wiladel has no separately counted population, existing only as a historic rural point in Washington County records. Wiladel is considered a ghost town with a population of 0.

Major Industries

Agriculture is essentially the sole economic activity in and around Wiladel, with dryland farming and cattle ranching dominating land use. Area residents have long relied on nearby Cope, Otis, and other Washington County towns for trade, churches, and services, while the Wiladel name was tied mainly to the local school and surrounding farmsteads.

Geography

Wiladel, Colorado, is located in Washington County, near Arickaree, with the following approximate GPS Coordinates: 39.6991525°N, -103.0660495°W at an elevation of approximately 4,715 feet.

Obscure and Notable Facts

Wiladel appears in Washington County historical notes chiefly as one of many early communities that supported a rural school district.