La Junta is a
home rule municipality in, 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 ...
of, and the
most populous municipality of
Otero County, Colorado, United States.
The city population was 7,322 at the
2020 United States census. La Junta is located on the
Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado east of
Pueblo. The city is home to
Otero College.
History
La Junta (Spanish for ) was named for the fact it rested at the intersection of the
Santa Fe Trail and a pioneer road to Pueblo. The town developed near
Bent's Fort, a
fur trading post of the 19th century. The
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway passed through La Junta, with a branch line to Denver separating here.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, La Junta had an Army Air Force Training Base outside town. An Air Force detachment of the
Strategic Air Command remained there until modern flight simulators developed in the 1980s rendered live flight unnecessary for pilot training maneuvers. At least one military aircraft crashed closeby during such training maneuvers.
Geography
The area is high plains terrain, dry with short grass prairie and sagebrush, and is part of the
Southwestern Tablelands ecological region. This area of Colorado is often the warmest. Summer brings numerous days above . The hottest temperature recorded in La Junta was on June 28, 1990, and June 24, 2012, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 20, 1948.
[
]
Climate
Demographics
There were 7,568 people, 2,977 households, and 1,964 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,277 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 74.22% 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 ...
, 1.22% African American, 1.77% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 18.33% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races. 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 43.60% of the population.
There were 2,977 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% 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 3.06.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,002, and the median income for a family was $36,398. Males had a median income of $26,325 versus $21,324 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 city was $14,928. About 16.8% of families and 21.4% 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 31.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
Arts and culture
Tourists come to see tarantulas who are looking for mates during the cooler weather in September and into October each year. Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, an important trading post along the Santa Fe Trail, is northeast of La Junta. The Koshare Indian Museum, housed at Otero College, holds a collection of Native American artifacts. The Koshare Indian museum hosts a unique Boy Scout/ Explorer program which trains the Scouts in both Native American dance and building traditional outfits. The Scouts give dance performances during the summer and also host Scout troops from other areas. Purgatoire River track site, one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America, is south of La Junta.
The Caboose is the drive-through for the State Bank, which was established in 1893. The bank has been remodeled with antiques, including a teller line from the late 1890s.
Media
The city is served by the daily newspaper '' The Tribune-Democrat''.
The city is also served by a local radio station that broadcasts in AM and FM. They are KBLJ 1400 AM and KTHN 92.1 FM.
Infrastructure
Transportation
The Southwest Chief provides Amtrak passenger rail service to the community.
La Junta, until recently, had a railroad yard for assembling freight trains for the climb over Raton Pass. BNSF runs freight trains between Denver and Kansas/Texas via La Junta. The sole remaining major train crossing Raton Pass today is the daily Southwest Chief, in both directions, between Los Angeles and Chicago.
U.S. Highway 50 travels through La Junta, approaching from Pueblo to the northwest and continuing eastward towards Lamar and into Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
. U.S. Highway 350 begins at La Junta and travels southwest before reaching Trinidad. State Highway 10 also begins at La Junta and travels west-southwest before reaching Walsenburg.
The city operates a public bus system with one route that circles the city. Intercity transportation is provided by Bustang. La Junta is part of the Lamar-Pueblo-Colorado Springs Outrider line.
Health care
The city and region are served by the Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center, located in La Junta.
Notable people
In popular culture
* The Terrence Malick motion picture '' Badlands'' (1973), starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek filmed scenes in and around La Junta.
* Richard Fleischer's '' Mr. Majestyk'' (1974), starring Charles Bronson, used several exteriors and interiors in La Junta, including the hospital and police station, as well as Main Street for the downtown gun battle, and various streets in town for parts of the car chase.
* Scenes for the 1978-79 TV mini-series, ''Centennial'', were filmed at Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, just east of La Junta.
* In The Net (1995), Sandra Bullock's character Angela Bennett is from La Junta.
* In the 1946 movie Without Reservations starring John Wayne and Claudette Colbert, they become stranded at the La Junta train station. Wayne's character is a Marine Corps pilot and they go to the Army Air Field to try to catch a flight to California.
* In the 1952 movie The Narrow Margin one of the mobsters who is looking to kill the wife of a mob boss on her way to Los Angeles to testify, boards the Southwest Chief during a train stop in La Junta.
See also
* List of municipalities in Colorado
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Cities in Otero County, Colorado
Cities in Colorado
County seats in Colorado
Populated places established in 1881
Colorado populated places on the Arkansas River
1881 establishments in Colorado