Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Pagosa Springs (Ute language: Pagwöösa, Navajo language: Tó Sido Háálį́) is a home rule municipality that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Archuleta County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,571.

History

The town is named for a system of sulfur springs, Pagosa hot springs, located there, which includes the world's deepest geothermal hot spring. The "Mother" spring feeds primitive and developed hot springs located on the upper banks of the San Juan River, which flows through town. The primitive springs are freely accessible to the public, but are generally not for entering or interacting with because of the extreme water temperature. Developed springs feed soaking pools that are hosted by three privately owned soaking locations within town. The water from the "Mother" spring is approximately .

Local indigenous people used the hot springs for centuries; the area was considered "sacred ground". In Navajo cosmology, Pagosa Springs is the place where the People (Diné) emerged from their Fourth World underground to the Fifth World, this one, as Aileen O'Bryan records in ''The Dîné: Origin Myths of the Navaho Indians''. In 1859, a white settler "discovered" the springs and developed them. In 1881, a bathhouse was first built there for paying customers.

The Ute people called the sulfur-rich mineral springs ', which is commonly translated in modern documents as "healing waters"; however according to Bill Hudson writing for the ''Pagosa Daily Post'', a Ute elder once translated the phrase as "water () that has a bad smell ()" whereas the Archuleta County government states that "pagosa" is a Ute word meaning "healing or "boiling water."

After the Civil War, the United States government considered building a convalescent hospital in Pagosa Springs. However, the hospital project was cancelled, and the lands platted by the U.S. Army were sold to private parties who capitalized on the thermal mineral springs. Along the banks of the San Juan river, simple wooden bathhouses were constructed.

In the late 1880s, Dr. Mary Winter Fisher ventured west from Chicago to found a medical and healing practice in Pagosa Springs. The medical center in the town is named after her.

In the 1930s, Cora Woods built a geothermal swimming pool and several small cabins on the Northeast corner of land she purchased from Bill Lynn, a local entrepreneur. There were a total of 23 cabins with no electricity, dirt floors, wood stoves, and oak iceboxes. In the 1950s, the Giordano family purchased the property from Cora Woods. The Giordanos were European coal miners who had settled in the Walsenburg, Colorado area. They dug additional geothermal wells, and built an enclosed bathhouse next to the thermal water swimming pool.

In the 1980s, Pagosa Springs received federal funding from the Department of Energy to drill two geothermal wells to heat buildings in the small downtown area of town. In the 1990s, the town built a new pipeline and municipal bridge to deliver mineral springs water to a new resort.

1911 flood

On October 5, 1911, a flood occurred in Archuleta County, destroying the town's water supply pipeline and all the bridges throughout the county, including the bridges across the San Juan River. A cable was installed across the river providing residents a way to cross, and also to distribute food to those stranded by the flood. Many structures were damaged or destroyed including the electric plant. Train service as well as mail delivery halted in Pagosa Springs due to the train tracks being washed out.

Geography

Pagosa Springs is located east of Durango. The San Juan River flows through the middle of town.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.53%, is water. The area around Pagosa Springs has numerous large waterfalls, including Treasure Falls to the east of town off of Hwy 160 just past the Wolf Creek Pass summit.

Approximately 65 percent of the land in Archuleta County is either San Juan National Forest
Weminuche
an

wilderness areas, or Southern Ute Indian reservation land.

Pagosa Springs is located approximately north of the New Mexico border, at above sea level on the Western Slope of the Continental Divide. This combination of high desert plateau and the Rocky Mountains to the north and east creates an unusually mild climate, especially in the summer months. Pagosa sees around 300 days of sun each year, as well as four distinct seasons.

The town is located in the upper San Juan Basin, surrounded by the San Juan National Forest, and adjacent to the largest wilderness area in the state of Colorado, the Weminuche Wilderness.

Climate

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 1,591 people, 633 households, and 415 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 746 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 74.61% White, 0.50% African American, 2.20% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 18.73% from other races, and 3.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.18% of the population.

There were 633 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $29,469, and the median income for a family was $33,831. Males had a median income of $24,125 versus $21,406 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,355. About 11.9% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 21.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Archuleta County School District 50-JT operates the community's public schools. Pagosa Springs High School is the comprehensive high school.

Recreation

Other recreational activities in the area include downhill and cross country skiing at nearby Wolf Creek ski area and snowmobiling in the surrounding National Forest. Summertime activities include fishing, hiking, and rafting. The area is also a popular destination for hunters, who harvest elk, deer, and other game animals.

In popular culture

"Downtown Pagosa Springs" was the final destination for a duo of truckers in the 1975 country song "Wolf Creek Pass" by C. W. McCall. From Wolf Creek pass to town, U.S. Highway 160 goes through a vertical drop of , and is described in the song as "hairpin county and switchback city".

Notable people

* Dan Fogelberg, an American singer/songwriter, lived on a working ranch near Pagosa Springs. His recording studio was on the property.
* Ursala Hudson (Tlingit), Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver
* Frank Oppenheimer, American particle physicist, cattle rancher, professor

See also

*List of municipalities in Colorado

References

External links

Visit Pagosa Springs
The official website for Pagosa Springs visitor information
Town of Pagosa Springs
The official website for The Town of Pagosa Springs
Pagosa.com
commercial site
Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation

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Towns in Archuleta County, Colorado
Towns in Colorado
County seats in Colorado