Las Animas is the statutory city that is 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 ...

, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in

Bent County, Colorado Bent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 5,650. The county seat and only Colorado municipalities, incorporated municipality is Las Animas, Colorado, Las ...

, United States. The city's population was 2,300 at the 2020 United States census. Las Animas is located on the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

, just west of its confluence with the Purgatoire River (or "Purgatory River"), in southeast Colorado east of

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

, near the historic Bent's Fort.

Etymology

According to legend, the town and the Purgatoire River were named after a group of ''

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

es'', probably part of

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia. People with the name * Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...

's expedition, who died without the

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...

sacrament of a priest. According to Catholic belief, their souls would go to

Purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

as a result. The original Spanish name for ''Las Ánimas'' ("The Souls", in Spanish) was purported to be ''La Ciudad de Las Ánimas Perdidas en Purgatorio,'' "The city of lost souls in Purgatory." According to author Morris F. Taylor, though, this is not consistent with Spanish Catholic belief, but a French Catholic belief. The Spanish version, ''El Río de las Ánimas Perdidas en Purgatorio,'' was considered an embellishment of the French version. No 19th-century map shows this full Spanish name or any translation of it. Existing maps have different names for the river: ''Río de Las Ánimas,'' Purgatory River, and "Picatoire", a corruption of ''Purgatoire'' (which today is anglicized as Picketwire). French fur traders of the 19th century referred to the river as the ''Purgatoire''. Another anglicization was the Pick of Ware.

History

Early settlement

Gantt's Picket Post, also known as Fort Gantt, was built near the present-day Las Animas in 1832, operating as a trading post until 1834. The second Fort Lyon military post was built in Las Animas in 1867. It operated until 1897.

Water issues

Water is a central issue in Las Animas. Like many cities in southeastern Colorado, Las Animas competes with wealthier cities on the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encounter ...

for the water to sustain life and the local agricultural economy. Developers and municipalities have capitalized upon drought and low crop prices by buying water from desperate farmers. As this water is diverted upstream to serve the larger cities, Las Animas loses access to this important resource. Because of the poor quality of the city's water supply, a reverse-osmosis filtration plant was installed in the mid-1990s. The loss of minerals in the water resulted in the collapse of many water mains, which had been supported by mineral deposits that formed on the insides of the pipes.

Geography

Las Animas is located in northwest Bent County at (38.066980, -103.225937), along the

. U.S. Highway 50 is the main highway through the city, leading west to Pueblo and east to Lamar. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which , or 2.75%, is covered by water.

Climate

Las Animas is often one of the warmest cities in

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 ...

, but winters can still be quite cold. The record low temperature in Las Animas of occurred most recently on January 28, 1948. The record high temperature for Las Animas is and occurred most recently on June 24, 2012. Each year there are roughly 83 afternoons that hit or hotter, with 22 reaching at least . The record for lowest maximum temperature was on December 20, 1924, when the high was . On the other end of the spectrum, Las Animas’ hottest minimum temperature occurred August 2, 1935, with a low of .

Demographics

St. Mary's Catholic Church in Las Animas As of the

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, 2,758 people, 1,091 households, and 716 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 1,264 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 74.87% White, 0.91% African American, 2.86% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 15.34% from other races, and 5.44% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 42.6% of the population. Of the 1,091 households, 31.0% had children under 18 living with them, 46.0% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were not families. About 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.04. In the city, the age distribution was 27.3% under 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 117.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $26,157, and for a family was $29,815. Males had a median income of $26,168 versus $23,250 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 city was $13,893. About 19.7% of families and 25.0% 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 39.3% of those under 18 and 14.4% of those 65 or over.

Santa Fe Trail Day

Las Animas sits along the Mountain Branch of the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...

and served as the major city in southeast Colorado until the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

established operations in La Junta, to the west of Las Animas. Las Animas celebrates an annual Santa Fe Trail Day, a celebration of the pioneers and traders who used this trail. This local holiday is the oldest student council-sponsored event in the US. The Las Animas High School Student Council organizes the day, with assistance from the Bent County Chamber of Commerce. Festivities have included a parade, a costume contest, square dancing, a

demolition derby Demolition derby is a type of motorsport, usually presented at county fairs and national events. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their v ...

, and a traditional "Ranchburger" lunch, as well as many other activities. From 2002 and forward, students have spread out events over a two-day period, sometimes making this a weekend event. The event originally occurred/started on the last Friday in April. As the event moves into another milestone, these, too, are milestones in the event's remarkable resilience: •April 26, 2002, is the official start of a multiday event, spreading over the weekend. •April 24, 2009, Las Animas celebrated its 75th Annual Santa Fe Trail Day with special guests, those who previously were the Santa Fe Trail Day Crowned Queen and those who had been previously elected Student Council President, as far back as 1944 attended. •April 24, 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic, marked the first time in its history the town would not permit the community parade. •Events were planned for April 26–28, 2024, in recognition for the 90th-anniversary commemoration.

Education

;Columbian Elementary School Built in 1916 to replace the old Columbian School (1887), Columbian Elementary School was the only building of Spanish architecture style in Las Animas. It was also the only open-courtyard school in the state of Colorado. In 2004, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

because of its significance, and, needing renovation for continued use, it was on the 2004 Colorado Preservation, Inc. List of Endangered Places. As attempts were made to preserve the building, a modern facility was built to the west, inhabiting what was the playground and open area for the now demolished original structure. Though it was evaluated by outside sources as being unfit for the building's intended use, the city hired a demolition firm to remove the materials, though it was found to have had asbestos in the building materials, and from residents who witnessed the structure fall, there was only minimal containment. Considered by the School Board and all but a handful of citizens to be too costly to renovate, this 90-year-old building was demolished on February 21, 2006.Mestas, Anthony A. "Old Columbian school falls to wrecker's ball"
''The Pueblo Chieftain'', February 25, 2006 Following demolition, the school was delisted on July 26, 2006."Columbian Elementary School, Las Animas"
National Park Service The city constructed a new elementary school just west of the old school location.

Transportation

Las Animas is incorporated into the Bustang's network. It is part of Lamar-Pueblo-Colorado Springs Outrider line.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Las Animas include fur trader and rancher

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 ...

, actor and singer Ken Curtis, and editor and arts patron Mari Yoriko Sabusawa.

References

External links

*
CDOT map of the City of Las Animas
{{authority control Cities in Bent County, Colorado Cities in Colorado County seats in Colorado Colorado populated places on the Arkansas River