Editing La Veta, Colorado (section)

== History ==
Col. John M. Francisco, the [[sutler]] at [[Fort Garland]], and his business partner, Henry Daigre, purchased 48,000 acres of land in Cuchara Valley in 1862. The land was part of the Vigil land grant. They established a settlement for farmers and ranchers, with [[Francisco Plaza|Francisco Fort]] as the commercial center.<ref name="Jessen" /> The 100-foot-square building was constructed with 2-foot thick adobe walls, interior rooms, that opened up to a central plaza. It was built with a flat roof with gun ports along the [[parapet]]s. In 1863, the fort was attacked by a band of [[Ute people|Ute]] Indians. Men got on the roof to defend the fort, and a volunteer rode to Fort Lyon. The Utes departed before the troops arrived.<ref name="Jessen" />

In 1871, the settlement was named Spanish Peak and a post office was established. New settlers came to the area with the arrival of the [[Denver & Rio Grande Railroad]]. The narrow gauge railroad, which crossed La Veta Pass, was the highest U.S. railroad pass at the time. A depot, the [[La Veta Pass Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot]], was built one block north of the fort. Papers for incorporation of the town were filed by noted railroad tycoon and entrepreneur William Jackson Palmer and Governor Alex Hunt in 1876.<ref>National Register of Historic Places, Francisco Plaza, 1986</ref>  The fort is now operated by the Huerfano Historical Society.<ref name="Jessen">{{Cite news |url=http://www.reporterherald.com/columnists/colorado-history/ci_26606961/francisco-fort-became-center-la-veta |title=Francisco Fort became the center of La Veta |last=Jessen |first=Kenneth |date=September 28, 2014 |work=Reporter-Herald|location=Loveland, Colorado |access-date=June 11, 2018}}</ref> A post office called La Veta has been in operation since 1876.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?state=CO | title=Post offices | publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | access-date=June 29, 2016}}</ref> The community was named for a mineral deposit near the original town site, ''La Veta'' meaning  "[[Vein (geology)|mineral vein]]" in Spanish.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dawson|first=John Frank|title=Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051116740;view=1up;seq=37|publisher=The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co.|location=Denver, CO|page=31}}</ref>

On the morning of November 8, 1913, William Gambling, a miner who had refused to join the 1913–1914 [[United Mine Workers of America]] [[strike action|strike]] against the [[Colorado Fuel and Iron]] company, was intercepted and accosted by pro-strikers as he was traveling to the dentist in La Veta. He left the dentist's office later and was picked up by a car carrying three mine guards and a driver. A volley of gunfire was aimed at the car, killing all but Gambling. At least five men were arrested by the [[Colorado Army National Guard|Colorado National Guard]] in relation to this incident, part of the early stages of the [[Colorado Coalfield War]].<ref>{{cite report|title=''The Military Occupation of the Coal Strike Zone of Colorado by the National Guard, 1913–1914.'' |year=1914 |author=Colorado Adjutant General's Office}}</ref> Gambling, who managed to escape to a nearby dairy farm on Middle Creek, was attended to and aided back to the Oakview Mine the next day by the dairy farmer who routinely delivered milk to the mining camp.
<ref>Charles Clifford Coe, Middle Creek Ranch, Dairy Farm 1913 to 1975</ref>

Colorado's youngest-serving politician, Logan Taggart, was appointed to the La Veta town council at age 18 in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Admin |first=Gretchen |date=2013-09-14 |title=High school student sworn in as La Veta Town board member |url=https://worldjournalnewspaper.com/high-school-student-sworn-in-as-la-veta-town-board-member/ |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=The World Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>