Silverton was established when Thomas J. Braidfoot and associates formed a townsite company, with the name reportedly derived from the silvery reflections of nearby lakes. The town quickly developed with a post office, stores, a blacksmith shop, and a school by the fall of 1891. In 1892, Silverton won a special election, becoming the county seat over two rival townsites. The construction of a two-story courthouse and a stone jail followed. The town saw the opening of the first bank in 1909 and the construction of a new brick schoolhouse in 1911.[4]
As of thecensus[2] of 2000, there were 771 people, 303 households, and 217 families living in the city. The population density was 766.4 inhabitants per square mile (295.9/km2). There were 362 housing units at an average density of 359.8 per square mile (138.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 79.51%White, 0.52%African American, 0.78%Native American, 15.69% fromother races, and 3.50% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 28.15% of the population.
There were 303 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% weremarried couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,014, and the median income for a family was $32,308. Males had a median income of $23,750 versus $16,750 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $13,416. About 12.1% of families and 17.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 29.4% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.
^Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.[15][16]