Walsenburg 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 ...

of and the most populous municipality in Huerfano County,

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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The city population was 3,049 at the 2020 census, down from 3,068 in 2010.

History

Walsenburg was originally settled under the name of La Plaza de los Leones in 1859. The settlement was named after settler Don Miguel Antonio de Leon, who came along with others from New Mexico. A post office called Walsenburg has been in operation since 1870. The community was named after Fred Walsen, an early settler. Robert Ford, the famous gunman, operated a combination saloon and gambling house in Walsenburg; his home at 320 West 7th Street still stands. The town is also remembered in sports history due to a famous newspaper gaffe ("Will Overhead") after the 1933 Indianapolis 500.

Colorado Coalfield War

Walsenburg played a central role in the 1913-1914 Strike of the

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 ...

against the Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel and Iron, an event better known as 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 ...

. The town was the site of a

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 ...

stop and location of several gun-battles before and after the April 20, 1914 Ludlow Massacre that killed over a dozen women and children when Colorado National Guard opened fire on a striker encampment at

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

, 22 miles south of Walsenburg. Among the first instances of violence in Walsenburg during the coal strikes is known as the Seventh Street Massacre, which saw three miners die in a shooting perpetrated by newly minted Walsenburg deputies. The Battle of Walsenburg (April 28–29, 1914) was the penultimate engagement of National Guard and militia against pro-strikers during the 10-Day War stage of the conflict. Several men on both sides, as well as at least one uninvolved civilian, were killed before strikers withdrew. Walsenburg is mentioned in the

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

song " Ludlow Massacre".

1927-1928 Colorado Coal Strike

In 1927 the coal mines in Walsenburg were one of the many shutdown during the statewide strike led by the IWW.

21st century

On June 19, 2013, Boy Scouts at Spanish Peaks Scout Ranch noticed an uncontrolled fire near East Spanish Peak which rapidly grew over the next few days, growing into the East Peak Fire. The entirety of Walsenburg was placed under a pre-evacuation notice. The fire burned and was contained on July 9.

Geography and climate

Walsenburg is located in east-central Huerfano County, on the north side of the Cucharas River, at the eastern edge of the foothills of the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...

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 ...

runs along the eastern edge of the city, with access from Exits 49, 50, and 52. I-25 leads north to

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 ...

and south to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. U.S. Route 160 passes through the center of Walsenburg, leading west across North La Veta Pass to Alamosa and south with I-25 to Trinidad. Colorado State Highway 10 leads northeast from Walsenburg to La Junta. 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 ...

, Walsenburg has a total area of , all of it land. The Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center is located west of Walsenburg on US 160, opposite the entrance to Lathrop State Park. The building houses a state-operated veterans' retirement home and a community hospital that serves the area. Walsenburg has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

( Cfa) with hot, rainy summers with cool nights and cool snowy winters with chilly nights.

Local attractions and recreation

Lathrop State Park, located west of the Walsenburg city limits, is Colorado's first state park and is over in size. Martin Lake and Horseshoe Lake offer fishing stocked by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, water skiing, boating, and jet skiing. Hiking and camping are other activities in the park, and it is the only state park in Colorado with a golf course. The Spanish Peaks, southwest of Walsenburg are a

national natural landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

and have been named one of "Colorado's Seven Wonders" by ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...

''. The Highway of Legends, connecting Walsenburg with La Veta, other historic mining towns, and

, is a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

. The Walsenburg Golf Course is a 9-hole public golf course open for play year round. The city opened a $2 million water park, "Walsenburg Wild Waters", after efforts by former mayor Maurice Brau and the city council, on May 27, 2007. However, the water park has been closed since about 2020.

Demographics

Education

Walsenburg lies in Huerfano School District Re-1, one of two school districts in Huerfano County. The district operates two schools in Walsenburg. Peakview School offers

Pre-K Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

sixth grade Sixth grade (also 6th grade or grade 6) is the sixth year of formal or compulsory education. Students in sixth grade are usually 11-12 years old. It is commonly the first or second grade of middle school or the last grade of elementary school, an ...

, and Walsenburg Jr. Sr. High School (formerly John Mall High School) offers seventh through twelfth grades. In the 2024-2025 school year, Walsenburg Jr. Sr. High School had 174 students and a student:teacher ratio of 29:1. Minority enrollment was 66%, with a majority Hispanic.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

serves Walsenburg on its route between Denver and Albuquerque. Walsenburg is part of Colorado's Bustang network. It is on the Trinidad-Pueblo Outrider line. The Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad interchanges in Walsenburg.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Walsenburg include: * Xavier Atencio (1919–2017), animator * Star Caywood (1915–1968), Colorado state representative * Robert Ford (1861–1892), murderer, saloon owner * Debora Greger (born 1949), poet *Mary Harris " Mother Jones" (1837–1930), labor organizer * Matthew G. Martínez (1929–2011),

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

* Frank Olmstead, mayor of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and 18th Auditor of New Mexico * John R. Petrus (1923–2013),

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

state legislator *

Roy Porter Roy Sydney Porter (31 December 1946 – 3 March 2002) was a British historian known for his work on the history of medicine. He retired in 2001 as the director of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine at University College London ...

(1923–1998), jazz drummer * Sam T. Taylor (1903–1977), Colorado state senator * Albert J. Tomsic (1925–2012), politician, attorney, and judge * Fred Walsen (1841-1906), city founder and Colorado State Treasurer

References

External links

City of Walsenburg official websiteCDOT map of the City of Walsenburg
* {{authority control Populated places established in 1873 Hispanic and Latino American culture in Colorado Cities in Huerfano County, Colorado Cities in Colorado County seats in Colorado 1873 establishments in Colorado Territory