statutory town
In India, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), also called municipalities, are self-government institutions responsible for the administration of cities, towns, and transitional areas within a state or Union Territory. The 74th amendment to the Const ...
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
called San Antonio Plaza was created by Agapito Ribali (sometimes misspelled as Rivali or Ruballi) at the current site of the town. The San Antonio post office was established in 1875, and at some point the settlement was renamed to Schultz Plaza after William Schultz, builder of the first store in the settlement. In 1879, J. Ramón Aguilar came to the area and bought the land in and around the settlement. The Aguilar, Colorado, post office opened on December 16, 1890, and the Town of Aguilar was incorporated on January 18, 1894, named after the owner of the land.
In 1888, the Peerless coal mine opened close to Aguilar, and in 1892, the Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway built a spur line west from Acme to Aguilar with an additional spur to the mine, which was absorbed by the
Colorado and Southern Railway
The Colorado and Southern Railway was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the western United States that operated independently from 1898 to 1908, then as part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until it was ...
in 1898. An extension of the line was built to Brodhead in 1900 to serve it and other coal mines in the area, such as the Empire, the Gem, and the Green Canyon.
From September 1913 until late April 1914, much of Las Animas County was embroiled by the
Colorado Coalfield War
The Colorado Coalfield War was a major Labor dispute, labor uprising in the southern and central Colorado Front Range between September 1913 and December 1914. Striking began in late summer 1913, organized by the United Mine Workers of Ameri ...
, which saw up to 12,000 pro-
United Mine Workers of America
The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...
strikebreaker
A strikebreaker (sometimes pejoratively called a scab, blackleg, bootlicker, blackguard or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers may be current employees ( union members or not), or new hires to keep the orga ...
s, and the Colorado National Guard. On October 29, 1913, the Aguilar post office and several other town structures were destroyed in an
arson
Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...
attack related to the strike. The National Guard arrested several strikers over the attack and handed them over to the federal U.S. Marshal Service.
Following the Ludlow Massacre on April 20, 1914, strikers launched numerous attacks of both coordinated and spontaneous natures against mining operations, strikebreakers, and the National Guard in what is known as the Ten-Day War. One of the attacks was launched against Southwestern Mine Co.'s Empire Mine on April 22, where armed strikers forced non-striking miners and their families into the mine and began an all-night siege outside. After negotiation led by Aguilar's mayor and a church minister named McDonald, the strikers abandoned the siege before fatalities on either side were reported.
Geography
Aguilar is located in Las Animas County at coordinates , about one mile west of
Interstate 25
Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 st ...
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 593 people, 243 households, and 165 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 291 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 86.00%
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 ...
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 46.54% of the population.
There were 243 households, out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% 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, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.0% 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 2.93.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 20.2% from 25 to 44, 28.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $23,750, and the median income for a family
was $30,815. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $21,250 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 town was $11,249. About 27.8% of families and 34.3% 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 64.0% of those under age 18 and 25.7% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Aguilar Public Schools is part of the Aguilar Reorganized School District RE-6. The school district has one elementary school and one junior/senior high school.
Aguilar Elementary School and Aguilar Junior/Senior High School are located in Aguilar.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Aguilar is part of Colorado's
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 ...
network. It is on the Trinidad-Pueblo Outrider line.
See also
*
List of municipalities in Colorado
The U.S. Colorado, State of Colorado has 273 municipal corporation, active municipalities, comprising 198 towns, 73 City, cities, and two Consolidated city-county, consolidated city and county governments. The Denver, City and County of Denver ...
List of post offices in Colorado
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...