La Junta is a

home rule municipality Statutory city may refer to: * Statutory city (Austria), an Austrian municipality acting as a district administrative authority * Statutory city (Czech Republic), a Czech city with special privileges * Statutory city (United States), a city in the ...

in, 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 ...

of, and the most populous municipality of

Otero County, Colorado Otero County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,690. The county seat is La Junta. The county was named for Miguel Antonio Otero, one of the founders of the town of La Junta a ...

, United States. The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States census. La Junta is located on the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

in southeastern Colorado east of

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

. The city is home to

Otero College Otero College is a Public university, public community college in La Junta, Colorado. In fall 2022, the college had an enrollment of 999 students. History Otero College was established in 1941 and was named La Junta Junior College. Which was op ...

History

La Junta (Spanish for ) was named for the fact it rested at the intersection of the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...

and a pioneer road to Pueblo. The town developed near

Bent's Fort Bent's Old Fort is a fort located in Otero County in southeastern Colorado, United States. A company owned by Charles Bent and William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain built the fort in 1833 to trade with Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Plains Indians ...

, a

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

post of the 19th century. The

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

passed through La Junta, with a branch line to Denver separating here. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, La Junta had an Army Air Force Training Base outside town. An Air Force detachment of the

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

remained there until modern flight simulators developed in the 1980s rendered live flight unnecessary for pilot training maneuvers. At least one military aircraft crashed closeby during such training maneuvers.

Geography

The area is high plains terrain, dry with short grass prairie and sagebrush, and is part of the

Southwestern Tablelands The southwestern tablelands comprise an ecoregion running from east-central to south-east Colorado, east-central and a small portion of eastern New Mexico, some eastern portions of the Oklahoma Panhandle, far south-central Kansas, and portions o ...

ecological region. This area of Colorado is often the warmest. Summer brings numerous days above . The hottest temperature recorded in La Junta was on June 28, 1990, and June 24, 2012, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 20, 1948.

Climate

Demographics

There were 7,568 people, 2,977 households, and 1,964 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,277 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 74.22%

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 ...

, 1.22%

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 ...

, 1.77% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.13%

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 ...

, 18.33% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races.

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 were 43.60% of the population. There were 2,977 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% 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, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.06. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,002, and the median income for a family was $36,398. Males had a median income of $26,325 versus $21,324 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 city was $14,928. About 16.8% of families and 21.4% 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 31.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Tourists come to see

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

s who are looking for mates during the cooler weather in September and into October each year.

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site Bent's Old Fort is a fort located in Otero County in southeastern Colorado, United States. A company owned by Charles Bent and William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain built the fort in 1833 to trade with Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Plains Indians ...

, an important trading post along the

, is northeast of La Junta. The

Koshare Indian Museum The Koshare Indian Museum is an art and scouting museum in La Junta, Colorado. The building, located on the Otero Junior College campus, is a tri-level museum with an attached kiva that is built with the largest self-supporting log roof in the w ...

, housed at

, holds a collection of Native American artifacts. The Koshare Indian museum hosts a unique

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

Explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

program which trains the

Scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

in both Native American dance and building traditional outfits. The Scouts give dance performances during the summer and also host

Scout troop A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted i ...

s from other areas. Purgatoire River track site, one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America, is south of La Junta. The Caboose is the drive-through for the State Bank, which was established in 1893. The bank has been remodeled with antiques, including a teller line from the late 1890s.

Media

The city is served by the daily newspaper ''

The Tribune-Democrat ''The Tribune-Democrat'' is a five-day morning daily newspaper published in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by CNHI LLC. The newspaper's coverage area includes all or parts of Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland ...

''. The city is also served by a local radio station that broadcasts in AM and FM. They are KBLJ 1400 AM and KTHN 92.1 FM.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and American Southwest ...

provides Amtrak passenger rail service to the community. La Junta, until recently, had a railroad yard for assembling freight trains for the climb over

Raton Pass Ratón Pass is a 7,834 ft (2,388 m) elevation mountain pass on the Colorado–New Mexico border in the western United States. It is located on the eastern side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between Trinidad, Colorado and Raton, N ...

. BNSF runs freight trains between Denver and Kansas/Texas via La Junta. The sole remaining major train crossing Raton Pass today is the daily

, in both directions, between Los Angeles and Chicago.

U.S. Highway 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

travels through La Junta, approaching from

to the northwest and continuing eastward towards Lamar and into

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. U.S. Highway 350 begins at La Junta and travels southwest before reaching

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. State Highway 10 also begins at La Junta and travels west-southwest before reaching

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 city operates a public bus system with one route that circles the city. Intercity transportation is provided by

Bustang Bustang is an intercity bus service in the U.S. state of Colorado. Service began in 2015 and originally traveled between Denver and Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Glenwood Springs. Service has since been expanded to connect Grand Junction ...

. La Junta is part of the Lamar-Pueblo-Colorado Springs Outrider line. The former military airport, located north of La Junta, has of tarmac and two runways. One runway (east-west) is long and the other is

Health care

The city and region are served by the Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center, located in La Junta.

Notable people

In popular culture

* The

Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (; born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. Malick began his career as part of the New Hollywood generation of filmmakers and received awards at the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and ...

motion picture ''

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, ...

'' (1973), starring

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

and

Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Sissy Spacek, numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including ...

filmed scenes in and around La Junta. * Richard Fleischer's '' Mr. Majestyk'' (1974), starring

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in ...

, used several exteriors and interiors in La Junta, including the hospital and police station, as well as Main Street for the downtown gun battle, and various streets in town for parts of the car chase. * Scenes for the 1978-79 TV mini-series, ''Centennial'', were filmed at

, just east of La Junta. * In The Net (1995),

Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...

's character Angela Bennett is from La Junta. * In the 1946 movie

Without Reservations ''Without Reservations'' is a 1946 RKO Radio Pictures American comedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Claudette Colbert, John Wayne and Don DeFore. The film was adapted by Andrew P. Solt, Andrew Solt from the novel ''Thanks, God! I'l ...

starring John Wayne and Claudette Colbert, they become stranded at the La Junta train station. Wayne's character is a Marine Corps pilot and they go to the Army Air Field to try to catch a flight to California. * In the 1952 movie

The Narrow Margin ''The Narrow Margin'' is a 1952 American film noir starring Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, and Jacqueline White. Directed by Richard Fleischer, the RKO picture was written by Earl Felton, based on an unpublished story by Martin Goldsmith ...

one of the mobsters who is looking to kill the wife of a mob boss on her way to Los Angeles to testify, boards the

during a train stop in La Junta.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Otero County, Colorado Cities in Colorado County seats in Colorado Populated places established in 1881 Colorado populated places on the Arkansas River 1881 establishments in Colorado