Baca County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,506. The county seat is

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

. Located at the southeast corner of Colorado, the county shares state borders with Kansas, New Mexico, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

History

Baca County was created by the Colorado legislature on April 16, 1889, out of eastern portions of

Las Animas County Las Animas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,555. The county seat is Trinidad. The county takes its name from the Mexican Spanish name of the Purgatoire River, originally c ...

. Baca County was named in honor of

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

and Colorado territorial legislator Felipe Baca. Prior to the 1880s there was little activity in the county, other than along the Cutoff Branch of the Santa Fe Trail that crosses its extreme southeastern corner. The 1910s saw wet years and expansion due to the increase in acreage that could be homesteaded. World War I also brought increased demand for agricultural products. The arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1926 created new towns and a population increase. The Dust Bowl arrived in the 1930s, with Baca County being one of the hardest hit areas. This prompted soil conservation efforts by the federal government. Part of this effort was the purchase of cultivated land by the government in order to return it to grassland. Today the U.S. Forest Service supervises 220,000 acres of Comanche National Grassland which was purchased in the 1930s. These areas include Carrizo Creek and Picture Canyon. The Colorado Division of Wildlife maintains the recreational areas at Two Buttes Lake and Turk's Pond. On May 18, 1977, an

F4 tornado The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...

struck the southeastern portion of Baca County, causing an estimated $2.5 million in damage. It tracked from Keyes, Oklahoma, where damage was estimated at $25,000. As of 2020, this is the only F4/

EF4 The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia. The Enhanced Fujita scale repla ...

tornado ever recorded in Colorado since 1950.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), 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 Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.09%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Prowers County, Colorado (north) * Stanton County, Kansas (east/Central Time border) *

Morton County, Kansas Morton County (standard abbreviation: MT) is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Elkhart. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,701. The county was named after ...

(east/Central Time border) * Cimarron County, Oklahoma (south/Central Time border) *

Union County, New Mexico Union County ( es, Condado de la Unión, link=) is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,549, making it the fourth-least populous county in New Mexico. Its county seat is Clayt ...

(southwest) * Las Animas County, Colorado (west) *

Bent County, Colorado Bent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,650. The county seat and only incorporated municipality is Las Animas. The county is named in honor of frontier trader William Bent. Hi ...

(northwest)

Major Highways

U.S. Highway 160 U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a 1,465 mile (2,358 km) long east–west United States highway in the Midwestern and Western United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 five miles (8 km) west of Tuba City, Arizo ...

U.S. Highway 385 U.S. Route 385 (US 385) is a spur of U.S. Route 85 that runs for 1,206 miles (1,941 km) from Deadwood, South Dakota to Big Bend National Park in Texas. Route description , - , TX , 545 , 877 , - , OK , 36 , 58 , - , CO , 317 , 510 ...

State Highway 116

National historic trail

* Santa Fe National Historic Trail

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,517 people, 1,905 households, and 1,268 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 2,364 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.73% White, 0.04% Black or African American, 1.20% Native American, 0.15%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 2.99% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. 7.02% of the population were Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 1,905 households, out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.80% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.40% were non-families. 30.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.90. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.50% under the age of 18, 5.90% from 18 to 24, 22.70% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 22.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,099, and the median income for a family was $34,018. Males had a median income of $23,169 versus $18,292 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,068. About 12.90% of families and 16.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.60% of those under age 18 and 13.30% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

The town is served by the Southeast Colorado Hospital. Springfield Municipal Airport is located a few miles north of Springfield.

Politics

Like all of the High Plains, Baca County has long been overwhelmingly Republican. The last Democrat to carry the county was

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

in his 1964 landslide – when he carried all but three Colorado counties.

Communities

Town

* Campo *

Pritchett Pritchett may refer to: People * Aaron Pritchett (born 1970), Canadian country music singer * Bill Pritchett (1921–2014), Australian public servant * Chris Pritchett (born 1970), American baseball player * Florence Pritchett (1920–1965), Ameri ...

(county seat) * Two Buttes * Vilas *

Walsh Walsh may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walsh (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places * Fort Walsh, one of the first posts of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police * Walsh, Ontario, Norfolk ...

Unincorporated communities

* Deora * Lycan * Utleyville

References

External links

Official Baca County websiteBaca County HistoryColorado Historical Society Town of Campo official website Town of Springfield official website Town of Walsh official website
* {{authority control 1889 establishments in Colorado Colorado counties Eastern Plains Populated places established in 1889