La Veta, Colorado#History

Col. John M. Francisco, the sutler at Fort Garland, and his business partner, Henry Daigre, purchased 48,000 acres of land in Cuchara Valley in 1862. The land was part of the Vigil land grant. They established a settlement for farmers and ranchers, with Francisco Fort as the commercial center. The 100-foot-square building was constructed with 2-foot thick adobe walls, interior rooms, that opened up to a central plaza. It was built with a flat roof with gun ports along the parapets. In 1863, the fort was attacked by a band of Ute Indians. Men got on the roof to defend the fort, and a volunteer rode to Fort Lyon. The Utes departed before the troops arrived.

In 1871, the settlement was named Spanish Peak and a post office was established. New settlers came to the area with the arrival of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The narrow gauge railroad, which crossed La Veta Pass, was the highest U.S. railroad pass at the time. A depot, the La Veta Pass Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot, was built one block north of the fort. Papers for incorporation of the town were filed by noted railroad tycoon and entrepreneur William Jackson Palmer and Governor Alex Hunt in 1876.National Register of Historic Places, Francisco Plaza, 1986 The fort is now operated by the Huerfano Historical Society.{{Cite news |url=http://www.reporterherald.com/columnists/colorado-history/ci_26606961/francisco-fort-became-center-la-veta |title=Francisco Fort became the center of La Veta |last=Jessen |first=Kenneth |date=September 28, 2014 |work=Reporter-Herald|location=Loveland, Colorado |access-date=June 11, 2018}} A post office called La Veta has been in operation since 1876.{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?state=CO | title=Post offices | publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | access-date=June 29, 2016}} The community was named for a mineral deposit near the original town site, La Veta meaning "mineral vein" in Spanish.{{cite book|last=Dawson|first=John Frank|title=Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051116740;view=1up;seq=37|publisher=The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co.|location=Denver, CO|page=31}}

On the morning of November 8, 1913, William Gambling, a miner who had refused to join the 1913–1914 United Mine Workers of America strike against the Colorado Fuel and Iron company, was intercepted and accosted by pro-strikers as he was traveling to the dentist in La Veta. He left the dentist's office later and was picked up by a car carrying three mine guards and a driver. A volley of gunfire was aimed at the car, killing all but Gambling. At least five men were arrested by the Colorado National Guard in relation to this incident, part of the early stages of the Colorado Coalfield War.{{cite report|title=The Military Occupation of the Coal Strike Zone of Colorado by the National Guard, 1913–1914. |year=1914 |author=Colorado Adjutant General's Office}} Gambling, who managed to escape to a nearby dairy farm on Middle Creek, was attended to and aided back to the Oakview Mine the next day by the dairy farmer who routinely delivered milk to the mining camp.

Charles Clifford Coe, Middle Creek Ranch, Dairy Farm 1913 to 1975

Colorado's youngest-serving politician, Logan Taggart, was appointed to the La Veta town council at age 18 in 2013.{{Cite web |last=Admin |first=Gretchen |date=2013-09-14 |title=High school student sworn in as La Veta Town board member |url=https://worldjournalnewspaper.com/high-school-student-sworn-in-as-la-veta-town-board-member/ |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=The World Journal |language=en-US}}

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of {{convert|1.37|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land. At one time (1919) there were sulfur springs in La Veta owned by Dr. Acker. They were last managed by W J Pierce of Colorado Springs.{{cite web |url=https://www.kmitch.com/Huerfano/news1915.html |title=Huerfano County, Colorado news of the day, 1915–1919 |last=Adams |first=Louise |last2=Griesan |first2=Jean |last3=Mitchell |first3=Karen |date=n.d. |website= |publisher= |access-date=July 8, 2022 |quote=}}

File:La Veta (Colorado) town hall.JPG

{{US Census population

|align=left

|1880= 165

|1890= 361

|1900= 254

|1910= 691

|1920= 737

|1930= 782

|1940= 897

|1950= 701

|1960= 632

|1970= 589

|1980= 611

|1990= 726

|2000= 924

|2010= 800

|2020= 862

}}

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The town is served by La Veta School District Re-2, which brands itself as La Veta Public Schools.{{cite web |url=https://www.lvk12.org/en-US?showHomepage=true |title=La Veta Public Schools |author= |date=n.d. |website=La Veta Public Schools |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}

{{Weather box

|location = La Veta, Colorado (Elevation 7,037ft)

|single line = Y

|collapsed = Yes

|Jan record high F = 70

|Feb record high F = 62

|Mar record high F = 74

|Apr record high F = 79

|May record high F = 85

|Jun record high F = 90

|Jul record high F = 97

|Aug record high F = 94

|Sep record high F = 85

|Oct record high F = 82

|Nov record high F = 75

|Dec record high F = 65

|year record high F = 97

|Jan high F = 46.9

|Feb high F = 47.9

|Mar high F = 48.5

|Apr high F = 57.2

|May high F = 67.6

|Jun high F = 76.7

|Jul high F = 83.7

|Aug high F = 81.1

|Sep high F = 72.9

|Oct high F = 66.3

|Nov high F = 57.3

|Dec high F = 44.0

|year high F = 62.5

|Jan low F = 16.5

|Feb low F = 12.7

|Mar low F = 17.3

|Apr low F = 31.3

|May low F = 37.5

|Jun low F = 43.8

|Jul low F = 53.8

|Aug low F = 50.6

|Sep low F = 41.2

|Oct low F = 31.9

|Nov low F = 24.6

|Dec low F = 13.3

|year low F = 31.2

|Jan record low F = −25

|Feb record low F = −10

|Mar record low F = −17

|Apr record low F = 12

|May record low F = 17

|Jun record low F = 32

|Jul record low F = 42

|Aug record low F = 32

|Sep record low F = 20

|Oct record low F = 5

|Nov record low F = -5

|Dec record low F = −17

|year record low F = −25

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 0.40

|Feb precipitation inch = 1.00

|Mar precipitation inch = 1.42

|Apr precipitation inch = 1.47

|May precipitation inch = 1.63

|Jun precipitation inch = 1.49

|Jul precipitation inch = 3.14

|Aug precipitation inch = 2.50

|Sep precipitation inch = 1.95

|Oct precipitation inch = 0.68

|Nov precipitation inch = 0.40

|Dec precipitation inch = 0.84

|year precipitation inch = 16.94

|Jan snow inch = 9.3

|Feb snow inch = 20.9

|Mar snow inch = 24.0

|Apr snow inch = 13.9

|May snow inch = 1.0

|Jun snow inch = 0

|Jul snow inch = 0

|Aug snow inch = 0

|Sep snow inch = 1.0

|Oct snow inch = 7.9

|Nov snow inch = 5.9

|Dec snow inch = 16.4

|year snow inch = 100.3

|source 1 = The Western Regional Climate Center{{cite web

| url =http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?co4865| title =Seasonal Temperature and Precipitation Information | access-date =April 14, 2013 | publisher =Western Regional Climate Center }}

|date=April 2013

}}

Nearby Cuchara Valley ski resort was closed in 2000. In the Late-2010s the property was re-opened as a Huferno County Park known as Parker-Fitzgerald Cuchara Mountain Park and operated by a non-profit as an all-season resort offering numerous activities. Despite unpredictable snow, residents of La Veta and surrounding towns are attempting to reopen the abandoned ski area with cat-skiing having opened in spring 2023 and trail access to skiers skinning up the season before as they work to revive the dormant chairlifts and have them certified.{{cite web |title=Small towns reclaim abandoned ski areas as nonprofits |date=April 8, 2023 |author=Brittany Peterson |website=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/small-towns-reclaim-abandoned-ski-areas-nonprofits-98447707#}}{{Cite web |title=History of Parker-Fitzgerald Cuchara Mountain Park |url=https://www.cucharamountainpark.org/history |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=www.cucharamountainpark.org |language=en}}

• Bob McGraw (1895–1978), baseball pitcher{{cite web | title = Bob McGraw | website = Pro-Football-Reference.com | url = https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgrabo01.shtml | access-date = June 17, 2016}}

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• Huerfano County, Colorado

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• {{Official website|https://townoflaveta-co.gov/}}

{{Commons category|La Veta, Colorado}}

• [http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/LA%20VETA.pdf CDOT map of the Town of La Veta]
• [http://www.pbase.com/fletcher_hill/la_veta Photos of La Veta and Surroundings]

{{Huerfano County, Colorado}}

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Category:Towns in Huerfano County, Colorado

Category:Towns in Colorado