Huerfano County ( ; ) is a county located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,820. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Walsenburg Walsenburg is the statutory city that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Huerfano County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 3,049 at the 2020 census, down from 3,068 in 2010. History Walsenburg was or ...

. The county, whose name comes from the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

''huérfano'' meaning "orphan", was named for the Huerfano Butte, a local landmark. The area of Huerfano County boomed early in the 1900s with the discovery of large coal deposits. After large scale World War II coal demand ended in the 1940s Walsenburg and Huerfano saw a steady economic decline through 2015.

History

Huerfano County was one of the original 17 counties created by the

Territory of Colorado The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized i ...

on November 1, 1861, and was originally larger than its present size. On November 2, 1870, the

Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in ...

created Greenwood County from former Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal land and the eastern portion of Huerfano County. There are countless reports of vast New Spain and Native American gold treasures that lay hidden in the hills and mountains of Huerfano County including the Arapahoe Princess Treasure. Two Spanish forts were located in Huerfano County.

Colorado Coalfield War

Huerfano County and neighboring Las Animas County were the central locations of the 1913-1914

United Mine Workers of America The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

against the Rockefeller-owned

Colorado Fuel and Iron The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) was a large steel conglomerate founded by the merger of previous business interests in 1892.Scamehorn, Chapter 1, "The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, 1892-1903" page 10 By 1903 it was mainly owned and ...

company, which is now referred to as the

Colorado Coalfield War The Colorado Coalfield War was a major Labor dispute, labor uprising in the southern and central Colorado Front Range between September 1913 and December 1914. Striking began in late summer 1913, organized by the United Mine Workers of Ameri ...

and other stops on the

Colorado and Southern Railway The Colorado and Southern Railway was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the western United States that operated independently from 1898 to 1908, then as part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until it was ...

proved strategically important for both strikers and the

Colorado National Guard The Colorado National Guard consists of the Colorado Army National Guard and Colorado Air National Guard, forming the state of Colorado's component to the United States National Guard. Founded in 1860, the Colorado National Guard falls under ...

, resulting in multiple gun-battles in around towns with stops.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water. The price of property saw an increase of more than 10% after a moratorium on commercial marijuana grows was lifted in July 2015.

Adjacent counties

Pueblo County Pueblo County ( or ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,162. The county seat is Pueblo. The county was named for the historic city of Pueblo which took its name from the Spanish la ...

- northeast * Las Animas County - southeast *

Costilla County Costilla County ( Spanish for "rib") is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,499. The county seat is San Luis, the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado. History On July 8, 1694 ...

- southwest * Alamosa County - west * Custer County - northwest * Saguache County - northwest

Major highways

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 st ...

* *

U.S. Highway 160 * Colorado 10

State Highway 10 * Colorado 12

State Highway 12 * Colorado 69

State Highway 69

Protected areas

* Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness * Lathrop State Park *

San Isabel National Forest San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado. It is one of eleven national forests in the state of Col ...

Sangre de Cristo Wilderness The Sangre de Cristo Wilderness is a long and narrow wilderness area covering of the Sangre de Cristo Range centered about Saguache and Custer counties, Colorado. Smaller areas are located in Fremont, Alamosa, and Huerfano counties. The w ...

Spanish Peaks Wilderness The Spanish Peaks Wilderness is a wilderness area in Huerfano County and Las Animas County, Colorado, United States, located southwest of Walsenburg. All of the wilderness area is located within San Isabel National Forest, which is managed ...

Scenic byway

* Highway of Legends Scenic Byway

Attractions and recreation

The county's

tourism board A destination marketing organization (DMO) is an organisation which promotes a location as an attractive travel destination. DMOs are known as tourist boards, tourism authorities or "Convention and Visitors Bureaus". They primarily exist to provide ...

brands the county as "Southern Colorado's Spanish Peaks Country." Visitors are attracted to the

Spanish Peaks The Spanish Peaks are a pair of prominent mountains located in southwestern Huerfano County, Colorado. The Comanche people call them Huajatolla ( ) or Wa-ha-toy-yah meaning "double mountain" The two peaks, East Spanish Peak at elevation and ...

and the many mountain-related activities they offer, such as mountain climbing, hiking, hunting, and sightseeing. In addition, the western part of the county offers the peaks of the

Sangre de Cristo Range The Sangre de Cristo Range is a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southern Colorado in the United States, running north and south along the east side of the Rio Grande Rift. The mountains extend southeast from Poncha Pass for about thr ...

, a range that includes several

fourteener In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener (also spelled 14er) is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado Co ...

s. The towns of La Veta and Cuchara offer art galleries and lodging. Also in Cuchara, a new county park — the Cuchara Mountain Park — opened in 2017, repurposing property that used to be the former Cuchara Ski Resort. The ski resort had been closed to skiers since 2000, but in the mid-2020s a group of local citizens purchased a parcel of land the old ski resort occupied and formed the non-profit Panadero Ski Corporation. Beginning in 2023, the organization began taking skiers and snowboarders partway up the ski resort's mountain using a

snowcat A snowcat (a portmanteau of snow and caterpillar) is an enclosed-cab, truck-sized, fully tracked vehicle designed to travel over snow. Major manufacturers are PistenBully (Germany), Prinoth (Italy), and Tucker (United States). Snow groomer ...

pulling a "ski bus", opening the ski resort for the first time in more than twenty years. Moreover, Panadero Ski Corporation is in the process of repairing one of the old ski lifts at the site, Lift 4, and hopes to open it to visitors soon. Huerfano County is a geologist's paradise. Over 500

dikes Dyke or dike may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), formations of magma or sediment that cut through and across the layering of adjacent rocks * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess ...

surround the Spanish Peaks. Many other geological formations, such as the

Dakota Formation The Dakota is a sedimentary rock, sedimentary geologic unit name of Formation (stratigraphy), formation and Group (stratigraphy), group rank in Midwestern North America. The Dakota units are generally composed of sandstones, mudstones, clays, and ...

, are visible in the county. Lathrop State Park offers hiking, camping, picnicking, fishing and of

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

trails. Adjacent to the park, the city of Walsenburg offers a public, nine-hole golf course.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 7,862 people, 3,082 households, and 1,920 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 4,599 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 80.96%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.75%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.70% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.08%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 9.41% from other races, and 3.71% from two or more races. 35.14% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 3,082 households, out of which 25.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.40% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.70% were non-families. 32.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.85. In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.90% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 27.40% from 45 to 64, and 17.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 118.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 122.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,775, and the median income for a family was $32,664. Males had a median income of $24,209 versus $21,048 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $15,242. About 14.10% of families and 18.00% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 23.70% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

A Democratic stronghold for much of the 20th century, Huerfano has become a competitive swing county in recent elections. After only backing

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

by 29 votes in 2000, the county voted for the winner of each presidential race between 2004 and 2016 before narrowly staying in the

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

column in 2020.

City

Town

* La Veta

Census-designated place

Gardner Gardner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gardner (given name) *Gardner (surname) Places United States * Gardner, Colorado *Gardner, Illinois *Gardner, Kansas *Gardner, Massachusetts * Gardner, North Dakota * Gardner, Tennessee * Ga ...

Unincorporated communities

* Badito * Chama * Cuchara * Farisita * Farista * Navajo Ranch * Red Wing

Ghost towns

Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alam ...

* Calumet * Delcarbon *

Tioga Tioga may refer to: United States communities *Tioga, California, former name of Bennettville, California *Tioga, Colorado * Tioga, Florida * Tioga, Iowa * Tioga, Louisiana * Tioga, Michigan * Tioga, New York, a town in Tioga County *Tioga County, ...

References

External links

Huerfano County Government websiteSpanish Peaks Country (Tourism board official website)
{{Coord, 37.69, -104.96, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CO_source:UScensus1990 Colorado counties 1861 establishments in Colorado Territory Populated places established in 1861