Bent County is a county located 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 so ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,650. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and only incorporated municipality is Las Animas. The county is named in honor of frontier trader

William Bent William Wells Bent (May 23, 1809 – May 19, 1869) was a merchant, frontier trader and rancher in the American West, with forts in Colorado. He also acted as a mediator among the Cheyenne Nation, other Native American tribes and the expanding U ...

History

As Colorado experienced population growth following the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, government had to be closer to the people for commerce and justice to be better served in growing communities. Territorial Bent County was created in February 1870, followed by Greenwood County the following month. The June 1, 1870, Federal Census was several months away and plans were being made to apply for statehood. On February 2, 1874, Grand County and Elbert County were formed. On February 6, 1874, Greenwood County was dissolved and divided between Bent and Elbert Counties. At the time of this annexation, Bent County included a large portion of southeastern Colorado. In 1889, Bent County acquired its current borders when it was partitioned to create

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

, Lincoln,

Kiowa Kiowa ( ) or Cáuigú () people are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe and an Indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colora ...

, Otero, and Prowers Counties.

Geography

According to the

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

, the county has a total area of , of which (1.8%) are covered by water.

Adjacent counties

* Kiowa County - north * Prowers County - east * Baca County - southeast * Las Animas County - southwest * Otero County - west

Major highways

U.S. Highway 50 * Colorado 101

State Highway 101 * Colorado 109

State Highway 109 * Colorado 194

State Highway 194 * Colorado 196

State Highway 196

State protected area

* John Martin Reservoir State Park

Trails and byway

American Discovery Trail The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal tr ...

* Santa Fe National Historic Trail * Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway

Demographics

At the 2000 census, 5,998 people, 2,003 households, and 1,388 families resided in the county. The population density was . The 2,366 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 79.53% White, 3.65% Black or African American, 2.23% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 10.25% from other races, and 3.77% from two or more races. About 30.24% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 2,003 households, 32.5% had children under 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were not families. About 27.2% of households were one person and 12.2% were one person 65 or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.07. The age distribution was 23.8% under 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 129.0 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 138.7 males. The median income for a household was $28,125 and for a family was $34,096. Males had a median income of $22,755 versus $24,261 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,567. About 16.6% of families and 19.5% 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 27.4% of those under 18 and 13.0% of those 65 or over.

Census-designated places

* Hasty * McClave

Politics

Bent is a strongly Republican county, although it is less so than the counties to its east. The last Democrat to carry Bent County was

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

in 1996, although

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis ( ; born November 3, 1933) is an American politician and lawyer who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the s ...

in 1988 was the last to gain a majority.

Communities

Cities

* Las Animas

Unincorporated places

* Able * Boggsville * Caddoa * Fort Lyon * Hasty * Marlman * McClave * Melina * Ninaview * Prowers

Gallery

Image:Bent County Democrat newspaper, Las Animas, CO IMG_5732.JPG, ''Bent County Democrat'' newspaper in Las Animas Image:Bent County, CO, rodeo arena IMG_5725.JPG, Bent County rodeo arena

Notes

References

External links

Bent County Government websiteColorado Historical Society
{{coord, 37.95, -103.08, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CO_source:UScensus1990 1874 establishments in Colorado Territory Colorado counties Eastern Plains Populated places established in 1874