Crestone, Colorado#History

{{more citations needed section|date=February 2011}}

File:Galena1901.jpg

The first settlement in the Crestone area occurred after the American Civil War with the granting of the Luis Maria Baca Grant No. 4 in 1860 to the heirs of the original Baca Grant at Las Vegas, New Mexico. Title to the grant at Las Vegas was clouded by a second grant of the same land to the residents of Las Vegas, the Bacas having abandoned their grant after the deaths of the founder to a Mexican soldier in 1827 and of his oldest son at the hands of the Navajo in 1835. The Baca heirs were offered alternative lands from the public lands of the United States.{{cite web |author1=Thomas Merlan |author2=Kurt F. Anschuetz |title=More Than a Scenic Mountain Landscape: Valles Caldera National Preserve Land Use History USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-196 Chapter 4. History of the Baca Location No. 1 |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr196/rmrs_gtr196_031_047.pdf |access-date=April 20, 2022 |date=September 2007}} The square tract selected is {{convert|12.5|mi|km}} on a side south of Saguache County Road T south of Crestone. The Bacas deeded the land to their attorney, but it soon passed by tax sale to a third party. The ranch headquarters were on Crestone Creek to the southwest of Crestone. The Baca Grant was one of the first large tracts of land to be fenced in the West and was the home of prize Hereford cattle.

In addition to ranching, there was some mining in the area to the east and south of Crestone of small shallow iron oxide copper gold ore deposits. In 1880, the town of Crestone was platted by George Adams, the owner of the Baca Grant. In 1900, with the help of Eastern investors, George Adams ignited a minor boom, reopening one of the more promising gold mines and building a railroad spur to the town and the mines along the Range south of town. However, lacking good ore, the boom was short-lived. A long period of decline followed.

By 1948, Crestone had declined to its post-war population of 40, mostly retirees and cowboys who worked on the Grant, a nickname for the Baca Grant. Many of the old cabins were used as vacation homes. By 1971, the Baca Grant came into the ownership of a corporation that subdivided a portion of the Grant, creating the Baca Grande, a subdivision originally platted for about 10,000 lots. At great expense, underground utilities were installed, and roads were built. However, sales lagged and by 1979 the development was considered a liability by the corporation. Maurice Strong, owner of a controlling interest, and his fiancée, Hanne Marstrand, visited the development and "fell in love with it". They were inspired to create a world spiritual center and began granting parcels of land to traditional spiritual organizations.

The population gradually began to increase and by 2006 several hundred homes had been built and small spiritual communities had become established. As the Baca Grande contained no provision for business uses, Crestone became the business center of the community and, having enacted a sales tax, was in a position to finance further improvements.

File:TeleEntranceCrestone.JPG, the peak on the right is Crestone Peak.]]

Crestone is located near the 38th parallel, in the San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado. It is platted on a quarter section of land, or {{convert|160|acres|sqkm}}, on the alluvial fan of North Crestone Creek. Much of the land near the creek where the main part of the city sits, is well watered in normal times, but during a prolonged drought the creek may dry up and underground water levels may fall.

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of {{convert|0.996|km2|acre|order=flip}}, all of it land.

Saguache County Road T is the main road into Crestone. It is a county road. It is "T" in a series of alphabetically named east–west roads that begin at State Highway 112, the south boundary of Saguache County, which would be Road A, if it were not a state highway. Road T is a through road across the valley, crossing U.S. Highway 285 at Swede's Corners about 6 miles south of Saguache, Colorado but is paved only from Moffat, Colorado east 12.5 miles to Crestone, Colorado.{{Cite web|title=Directions to Crestone Music Festival |url=http://www.crestfest.org/travel.html |archivedate=September 25, 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925164243/http://crestfest.org/travel.html|url-status=dead}} The eastern portion of Road T forms the north boundary of the Baca National Wildlife Refuge.{{clear left}}

Mountain terrain east of Crestone is managed by the Rio Grande National Forest including part of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness. Public lands at the foot of the mountains including the forested public land surrounding Crestone are managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management. The combined office of the United States Forest Service and the BLM is in Saguache, Colorado, the county seat.

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| collapsed = yes

| single line = yes

| location = Crestone, Colorado (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1982–present)

| Jan record high F = 59

| Feb record high F = 65

| Mar record high F = 74

| Apr record high F = 80

| May record high F = 96

| Jun record high F = 95

| Jul record high F = 98

| Aug record high F = 93

| Sep record high F = 90

| Oct record high F = 82

| Nov record high F = 68

| Dec record high F = 59

| year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F = 47.2

|Feb avg record high F = 52.0

|Mar avg record high F = 64.8

|Apr avg record high F = 72.5

|May avg record high F = 81.0

|Jun avg record high F = 89.2

|Jul avg record high F = 91.3

|Aug avg record high F = 87.9

|Sep avg record high F = 83.6

|Oct avg record high F = 75.0

|Nov avg record high F = 60.4

|Dec avg record high F = 49.3

|year avg record high F = 92.2

| Jan high F = 33.0

| Feb high F = 38.5

| Mar high F = 48.8

| Apr high F = 56.6

| May high F = 66.5

| Jun high F = 77.6

| Jul high F = 81.5

| Aug high F = 78.7

| Sep high F = 71.9

| Oct high F = 59.7

| Nov high F = 44.8

| Dec high F = 33.4

| year high F = 57.6

| Jan mean F = 21.1

| Feb mean F = 26.6

| Mar mean F = 35.5

| Apr mean F = 42.3

| May mean F = 51.4

| Jun mean F = 61.4

| Jul mean F = 65.5

| Aug mean F = 63.4

| Sep mean F = 56.7

| Oct mean F = 45.2

| Nov mean F = 32.1

| Dec mean F = 21.5

| year mean F = 43.6

| Jan low F = 9.2

| Feb low F = 14.7

| Mar low F = 22.3

| Apr low F = 28.0

| May low F = 36.2

| Jun low F = 45.1

| Jul low F = 49.6

| Aug low F = 48.1

| Sep low F = 41.5

| Oct low F = 30.7

| Nov low F = 19.3

| Dec low F = 9.7

| year low F = 29.5

|Jan avg record low F = -6.3

|Feb avg record low F = -2.6

|Mar avg record low F = 5.4

|Apr avg record low F = 14.1

|May avg record low F = 23.6

|Jun avg record low F = 33.7

|Jul avg record low F = 42.1

|Aug avg record low F = 40.7

|Sep avg record low F = 29.1

|Oct avg record low F = 14.1

|Nov avg record low F = 2.2

|Dec avg record low F = -6.6

|year avg record low F = -9.9

| Jan record low F = -20

| Feb record low F = -22

| Mar record low F = -10

| Apr record low F = 6

| May record low F = 13

| Jun record low F = 24

| Jul record low F = 34

| Aug record low F = 34

| Sep record low F = 18

| Oct record low F = 0

| Nov record low F = -11

| Dec record low F = -18

| year record low F =

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation inch = 0.50

| Feb precipitation inch = 0.48

| Mar precipitation inch = 0.99

| Apr precipitation inch = 1.07

| May precipitation inch = 1.15

| Jun precipitation inch = 0.83

| Jul precipitation inch = 2.11

| Aug precipitation inch = 1.91

| Sep precipitation inch = 1.24

| Oct precipitation inch = 0.91

| Nov precipitation inch = 0.66

| Dec precipitation inch = 0.58

| year precipitation inch = 12.43

| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

| Jan precipitation days = 5.2

| Feb precipitation days = 5.4

| Mar precipitation days = 6.3

| Apr precipitation days = 6.6

| May precipitation days = 7.6

| Jun precipitation days = 5.9

| Jul precipitation days = 13.0

| Aug precipitation days = 12.4

| Sep precipitation days = 8.0

| Oct precipitation days = 5.7

| Nov precipitation days = 4.5

| Dec precipitation days = 5.6

| year precipitation days = 86.2

| Jan snow inch = 8.0

| Feb snow inch = 7.7

| Mar snow inch = 9.3

| Apr snow inch = 10.8

| May snow inch = 2.5

| Jun snow inch = 0.0

| Jul snow inch = 0.0

| Aug snow inch = 0.0

| Sep snow inch = 0.0

| Oct snow inch = 3.9

| Nov snow inch = 7.0

| Dec snow inch = 9.4

| year snow inch = 58.6

| unit snow days = 0.1 in

| Jan snow days = 5.6

| Feb snow days = 5.6

| Mar snow days = 5.7

| Apr snow days = 4.3

| May snow days = 1.3

| Jun snow days = 0.0

| Jul snow days = 0.0

| Aug snow days = 0.0

| Sep snow days = 0.0

| Oct snow days = 1.6

| Nov snow days = 3.6

| Dec snow days = 6.1

| year snow days = 33.8

| source = NOAA{{cite web

|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=pub

|title = NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = December 8, 2023}}{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00051964&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL

|title = Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = December 8, 2023}}

}}

{{US Census population|align=left

|1910= 231

|1920= 74

|1930= 86

|1940= 172

|1950= 72

|1960= 51

|1970= 34

|1980= 54

|1990= 39

|2000= 73

|2010= 127

|2020= 141

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census

}}

The following is derived from the US census and covers only the town itself, thus giving only a partial picture of the area. About half of the homes in Crestone itself are used only on a seasonal basis. The Crestone community is much larger, consisting also of several hundred homes in the Baca Grande subdivision, the surrounding rural area, and the small town of Moffat, Colorado. The Moffat School District No. 2 operates a public school in Moffat and the Crestone Charter School in Crestone.{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=0805700&DistrictID=0805700 |website=nces.ed.gov |access-date=October 12, 2022|title=District Directory Information (2021-2022 school year)}}

As of the census{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2000, there were 73 people, 45 households, and 18 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|290.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 79 housing units at an average density of {{convert|314.7|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the town was 95.9% White, 4.1% from other races. 1.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 45 households, out of which 8.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.9% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.0% don't fit into the above categories. 48.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.62 and the average family size was 2.22.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 8.2% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 45.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52 years. For every 100 females there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $22,813 versus $27,917 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,291. There were 18.8% of families and 19.7% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.

{{clear|left}}

File:LittleShepardoftheHills.JPG|Little Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Mission

File:CrestonePostOffice.JPG|Crestone post office

File:CrestoneNovember.jpg|Kit Carson Mountain from Crestone in November 2010

File:GalenaScene.jpg|Galena Avenue about 1910

Image:Bacachorten.JPG|Chorten near Crestone

File:CreativeTrade.jpg|Creative Trade, a gift shop

File:Shambala.JPG|Shambala when it was a cafe

File:BlissCafeEast.JPG|The Bliss Cafe, now repurposed as the Crestone Brewery has since closed.

File:Haidakhandefwary.JPG Haidakhandeshwari in the temple of the Haidakhandi Universal Ashram near Crestone]]

Crestone has become internationally known as a locus for a diverse range of religious and spiritual traditions. Accommodating of spiritual pilgrims and eco-tourists is the major industry in Crestone. The town's development as a spiritual and intellectual center was initiated by Maurice Strong, a multimillionaire businessman and United Nations Undersecretary, and his wife, Hanne Marstrand Strong. Using land acquired from the corporations Strong controlled, they established the Manitou Foundation and Manitou Institute. According to its website, the institute "provides grants and some financial support in Crestone/Baca, Colorado to qualified religious and spiritual projects." The foundation granted land in the area to several spiritual and intellectual centers.{{cite web |last1=Brady |first1=Tracy Lynn |title=Kivas, cathedrals and energy seats: The making of religious landscapes in the upper Rio Grande Valley |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/2857b41c695a92506e361f80c97c4a8b/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y |publisher=University of Colorado at Boulder (PhD Thesis) |access-date=April 7, 2021 |date=2004}}

Crestone is one of only a handful of places in the United States where open-air funeral pyres are legally permitted. Since 1998, over 75 individuals have been cremated on an open-air pyre in Crestone.

Spiritual centers in Crestone:

Intellectual and spiritual centers of historical interest:

Emergency services for the town of Crestone and the Baca Grande are provided by the Crestone Volunteer Fire Dept. and the Baca-Crestone Ambulance Service.{{cite web|url=http://www.bacapoa.org/Fire~120945~14064.htm|title=Fire|author=The Baca Grande Property Owner's Association|access-date=December 22, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718163610/http://www.bacapoa.org/Fire~120945~14064.htm|archive-date=July 18, 2011}}

The [http://crestone-end-of-life.org/ Crestone End of Life Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805083802/http://crestone-end-of-life.org/ |date=August 5, 2013 }} provides open-air cremation and end of life support. CEOLP is a non-denominational community-based group promoting informed end-of-life choices and supporting their fulfillment. Cost is modest but is available only to the 1,000 or so people who live in the local community.{{cite news|title=Funeral pyres an option in Colo. mountain town|first=Ivan|last=Moreno|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/31/AR2011013100570.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 31, 2011|access-date=January 31, 2011|archive-date=February 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203045604/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/31/AR2011013100570.html|url-status=dead}}

The Annual Crestone Energy Fair is held in Crestone's town parks annually each fall. The fair features presentations, panels, building demonstrations and activities that focus on innovative, sustainable and regenerative ideas in construction, lifestyle & community. There are also vendor booths offering food and local products. Crestone hosts an annual Artists Open Studio Tour during the first weekend in October, allowing for visits to the many artist's studios in the area. Food and local products are offered regularly at the Saturday Market which happens in the middle of town in Little Pearl Park every Saturday during the summer.[http://www.alamosanews.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=75&story_id=17842 "Energy fair is this weekend"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707103442/http://www.alamosanews.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=75&story_id=17842|date=July 7, 2011}} article based on a press release in the Valley Courier August 30, 2010, accessed August 31, 2010 Crestone has a free box which is enthusiastically supported by the community.[http://crestoneeagle.com/?page_id=70 "Editor’s Notes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224135909/http://crestoneeagle.com/?page_id=70 |date=December 24, 2010 }} August '09 Crestone Eagle, accessed September 19, 2010

Crestone has historically been a deer park; Mule deer are commonly seen grazing in yards in town. Black bears are also common, but usually only at night when they raid apple trees and the dumpsters at the cafes and stores in downtown Crestone. In 2011 a bear with two cubs was frequently seen during the day. This bear, which was generally well-behaved other than raiding trash, was killed by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources following a bear attack on a tethered goat. Local sympathizers complained bitterly the wrong bear had been killed, receiving extensive coverage through Channel 9 in Denver which was distributed nationally by the Associated Press,{{cite news|title=Crestone residents say wrong bear killed|url=http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18787171|access-date=September 20, 2011|newspaper=The Denver Post|date=August 30, 2011|agency=The Associated Press}} prompting an investigation of the incident by the Division of Parks and Wildlife and possible re-evaluation of management of bears in mixed rural-urban communities such as Crestone.{{cite news|title=Parks & Wildlife meets with residents over bear's death|url=http://m.9news.com/localnews/article?a=220040&f=1269|access-date=September 20, 2011|newspaper=Channel 9 News in Denver|date=September 19, 2011|author=Kevin Torres}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} An internal investigation by the Division of Parks and Wildlife came to the conclusion that the right bear had been shot.[https://archive.today/20120719082000/http://www.9news.com/news/article/231848/222/Internal-review-finds-officials-shot-right-bear "Internal review finds officials shot right bear"] report by Christina Dickinson, 9News.Com, November 24, 2011

{{portal|Colorado}}

• List of municipalities in Colorado

{{reflist|22em}}

• Portions adapted from the Wikinfo article [https://web.archive.org/web/20110805020117/http://www.wikinfo.org/index.php/Crestone%2C_Colorado "Crestone, Colorado"]

• Harlan, George. Postmarks and Places, either self-published or Golden Bell Press, 1976, trade paperback.
• [https://www.usnews.com/articles/news/sacred-places/2007/11/16/a-spiritual-community-takes-root.html "A Spiritual Community Takes Root: Crestone, Colorado"], article by Jeffery Paine in U.S. News & World Report November 16, 2007
• [http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/travel/escapes/11crestone.html "For Many a Follower, Sacred Ground in Colorado"], The New York Times, January 11, 2008
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060325020421/http://www.bacapoa.org/poa/index.html History of the Baca Grande]
• A study by Colorado College anthropology students about the potential impact of natural gas drilling on Crestone's spiritual communities: [https://web.archive.org/web/20140726193819/http://www2.coloradocollege.edu/dept/AN/BACAAN326/Website/index.htm Homepage]

{{commons category|Crestone, Colorado}}

{{Wikivoyage}}

• [https://townofcrestone.colorado.gov/ Town of Crestone website]
• [http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/Crestone.pdf CDOT map of the Town of Crestone] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221040/http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/Crestone.pdf |date=March 3, 2016 }}
• [http://saguache.org/ Saguache County Tourism Information]
• [http://www.CrestoneArtists.com CrestoneArtists.com]

{{Saguache County, Colorado}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Towns in Colorado

Category:Towns in Saguache County, Colorado