History
Kit Carson
Kit Carson grew up on the Missouri border, watching his older brothers, one-by-one, disappear up the Missouri River or over the Santa Fe Trail. After his father died in a field accident, his mother apprenticed him to a saddle maker in Franklin. That life didn’t suit him, and in 1826, at the age of 16, [...]
Juan Bautista de Anza & Cuerno Verde
Cuerno Verde: Spain's Don Juan de Oñate founded New Mexico on behalf of his home country in 1598. This new frontier expanded for hundreds, if not thousands of miles in the minds of the Spanish. This mentality led to decades of battles between the Spaniards and the native people, including the Navajos and the Comanches [...]
The Bent, St. Vrain & Company
The Bent, St. Vrain & Company was formed in 1830 by William and Charles Bent, sons of a wealthy and influential St. Louis judge, and Ceran St. Vrain, a Taos trader and ex-trapper. About the Company: After its formation in 1830, The Bent, St. Vrain & Company’s Mexican trade grew rapidly as their wagon trains [...]
Drop City and Libre: Southern Colorado’s Counter-Culture Artist Communes
In the mid-1960s, a group of college-aged artists purchased a six-acre plot outside of Trinidad and built livable domes out of railroad ties and discarded lumber. They, along with other artists, would live off sales of their work and share a bank account to buy food and supplies—a new and exciting concept at the time. [...]
La Veta
La Veta sits on the eastern side of La Veta Pass through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and at the northern opening of the Cuchara River Valley. A busy trading center a century ago, La Veta is now known for its community of artists and ranchers and breathtaking scenery. La Veta may be small and [...]
Walsenburg
Walsenburg, Huerfano Country’s county seat, sits in the heart of Spanish Peaks Country. With I-25, Highway 160, and Highway 10 meeting in Walsenburg, this quaint, Southern Colorado gem is a popular stop for travelers who delight in its small-town charm and history, natural wonders, and artistic inspiration of the surrounding area. Visitors enjoy Walsenburg’s antique [...]
Huerfano County Historical Society
Take a deep dive into Huerfano County’s history with the Huerfano County Historical Society. This organization collects archival photos, newspapers, and Huerfano County records from the 1890s to the present. It also manages the Walsenburg Mining Museum and the Francisco Fort Museum. Find the Huerfano County Historical Society at the Huerfano Heritage Center in Walsenburg. [...]
A People’s History of the Spanish Peaks
The Spanish Peaks of Southern Colorado have been among the most important landmarks of the southwestern United States, guiding Native American tribes, Spanish and French trappers, gold seekers, hunters, and American settlers. The Ute, Comanche, Apache, and other, earlier Native American tribes held the peaks in religious awe and named the mountains Wahatoya, meaning “Breasts [...]
Uptop Historic District
In 1877, The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad crossed the Rocky Mountains for the first time over La Veta Pass in Huerfano County. Aptly named “Railroad Above the Clouds,” this train line attracted tourists from across the globe who wished to ride the highest railroad in the world. These rides didn’t last long. In 1899, [...]
Gardner
Gardner is a small community halfway between the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in upper Huerfano County. Historically, the area was crisscrossed by Ute, Comanche, and Apache hunting parties, Spanish conquistadors, and French trappers. While a few groups of early Americans came and went in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, [...]