Keota is a mostly abandoned town located on the

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

in the Pawnee National Grasslands in

Weld County Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley. Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Denver ...

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 sover ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Keota's elevation is . Keota is located approximately 50 miles east of Greeley on County Road 103.

Pawnee Buttes The Pawnee Buttes are two prominent buttes in northeastern Colorado. The west butte is located within the Pawnee National Grassland, while the east butte is on private land in Weld County. Rising approximately above the surrounding plains, the b ...

, a pair of prominent sandstone escarpments, which are significant nesting areas for hawks, falcons, and eagles, is located nearby.

History

Keota was established as a homestead in 1880 by two sisters, Mary and Eva Beardsley, and sold to the Lincoln Land and Cattle Co. in 1888. Keota was a station stop on the "Old Prairie Dog Express" of the

Burlington & Missouri River Railroad The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad (B&MR) or sometimes (B&M) was an American railroad company incorporated in Iowa in 1852, with headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. It was developed to build a railroad across the state of Iowa and began ope ...

. The railroad was abandoned in 1970, and the track was removed by 1982. The railroad was mainly used for cattle shipping from

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

to Sterling. Keota lost its incorporated status in 1990. There were four different newspapers at four different times from 1908–1975. A post office operated briefly in 1890, was reopened in 1909, and closed in 1974. The school was established in 1888 and closed sometime in 1951. The schoolhouse was torn down sometime in the 1950s, but the foundation still exists. The Dean Bivens family, who maintained the roads, moved out in September 1999. The town of Line Camp in James A. Michener's novel ''Centennial'' ″was drawn from Keota.″

Present habitation

As of 2008, the town is home to several residents in modern houses surrounding the historic townsite. There are remains of the general store, several houses, and foundations on what was the north side of the town along with several foundations, including that of the previously-mentioned schoolhouse.

Water supply

The Keota water tower still stands to this day; however, it is not in operation and would likely no longer be safe for storage of public drinking water. Water was once brought to Keota via rail cars due to its isolated location on Colorado's eastern plains.

References

{{Weld County, Colorado Ghost towns in Colorado Former populated places in Weld County, Colorado Populated places established in 1880 1880 establishments in Colorado