Editing La Veta, Colorado

{{short description|Town in Colorado, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->| official_name      = Town of La Veta, Colorado
| native_name        = 
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities and towns in Colorado#Statutory town|Statutory Town]]
| motto              = <!-- images and maps  ----------->
| image_skyline      = La Veta from above.JPG
| imagesize          = 250px
| image_caption      = La Veta from the east, looking towards [[Mount Mestas]]
| image_map          = File:Huerfano County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas La Veta Highlighted 0844100.svg
| mapsize            = 250px
| map_caption        = Location of La Veta in Huerfano County, Colorado.
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| pushpin_mapsize    = <!-- Location ------------------>
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{USA}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flag|Colorado}}
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Colorado|County]]<ref name=COMun>{{cite web|url=http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html |title=Active Colorado Municipalities |publisher=[[Colorado|State of Colorado]], Department of Local Affairs |access-date=September 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212060308/http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html |archive-date=December 12, 2009 }}</ref>
| subdivision_name2  = [[Huerfano County, Colorado|Huerfano]]
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = [[Colorado municipalities#Statutory town|Statutory Town]]<ref name=COMun />
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Douglas R. Brgoch [https://townoflaveta-co.gov/town-contacts/]
| leader_title1      = 
| leader_name1       = 
| leader_title2      = Town Trustees
| leader_name2       = 
| established_title  = <!-- Settled -->
| established_date   = 
| established_title2 = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated (town)]]
| established_date2  = June 16, 1886<ref name=MuniIncCO>{{cite web | url = http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/muninc.html | title = Colorado Municipal Incorporations | publisher = [[Colorado|State of Colorado]], Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives | date = December 1, 2004 | access-date = September 2, 2007}}</ref>
| established_title3 = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
| established_date3  = 
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_08.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 1, 2020}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 3.54
| area_land_km2      = 3.54
| area_water_km2     = 0.00
| area_total_sq_mi   = 1.37
| area_land_sq_mi    = 1.37
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.00
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = <ref name="Census 2020">{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/La_Veta_town,_Colorado?g=160XX00US0844100 |title=La Veta town, Colorado |author=United States Census Bureau|date= |website= |publisher= |access-date=April 5, 2023 |quote=}}</ref>
| population_note    = 
| population_total   = 862
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = auto
| timezone           = [[Mountain Time Zone|Mountain (MST)]]
| utc_offset         = -7
| timezone_DST       = [[Mountain Time Zone|MDT]]
| utc_offset_DST     = -6
| coordinates        = {{coord|37|30|25|N|105|00|29|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis />
| elevation_ft       = 7021
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]<ref name=ZIPcode>{{cite web|url=http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |title=ZIP Code Lookup |format=[[JavaScript]]/[[HTML]] |publisher=[[United States Postal Service]] |access-date=October 23, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104123722/http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |archive-date=November 4, 2010 }}</ref>
| postal_code        = 81055
| area_code          = [[Area code 719|719]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 08-44100
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 2412857<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2412857}}</ref>
| website            = {{URL|https://townoflaveta-co.gov/}}
| footnotes          = 
| population_demonym = La Vetan
}}

'''La Veta''' ({{IPAc-en|l|ə|ˈ|v|i|t|ə|}} {{respell|lə|VEE|tə}},<ref>{{cite AV media  |date= June 29, 2018|title= Spring Fire grows to 14,424 acres, Highway 160 closed at La Veta Pass|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifG-VoSu7Dk&ab_channel=KOAA5 |publisher=KOAA 5|via=[[YouTube]]|access-date=March 23, 2024 |time= 00:08}}</ref> [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "the [[Vein (geology)|vein]]") is a [[List of cities and towns in Colorado#Statutory town|statutory town]] in [[Huerfano County, Colorado|Huerfano County]], [[Colorado]], United States. La Veta sits at the base of the [[Spanish Peaks]] on the [[Highway of Legends National Scenic Byway]].  The town population was 862 as of the [[2020 United States census]].<ref name="Census 2020" />

== 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>

== Geography ==

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|1.37|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land. At one time (1919) there were sulfur springs in La Veta owned by Dr. Acker. They were last managed by W J Pierce of Colorado Springs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kmitch.com/Huerfano/news1915.html |title=Huerfano County, Colorado news of the day, 1915–1919 |last=Adams |first=Louise |last2=Griesan |first2=Jean |last3=Mitchell |first3=Karen |date=n.d. |website= |publisher= |access-date=July 8, 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
[[File:La Veta (Colorado) town hall.JPG|thumb|La Veta Town Hall]]
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1880= 165
|1890= 361
|1900= 254
|1910= 691
|1920= 737
|1930= 782
|1940= 897
|1950= 701
|1960= 632
|1970= 589
|1980= 611
|1990= 726
|2000= 924
|2010= 800
|2020= 862
}}

<!--As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 862 people and 543 housing units in the town. After the 2010 Census, the population density was {{convert|583.9|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 566 housing units at an average density of {{convert|413.1|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|racial makeup]] of the town was 91.1% [[White American|White]], 0.9% [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]], 0.4% [[Pacific Islands American|Pacific Islander]], 2.6% from other races, and 5.0% from two or more races. [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanics and Latinos]] of any race were 11.4% of the population.<ref name=Census2010>{{cite web | title = U.S. Census website | publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]] | url = https://www.census.gov | access-date = October 24, 2012}}</ref

There were 415 households, of which 20.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.5% were non-families. 42.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.93, and the average family size was 2.60.<ref name=Census2010 />

The median age in the town was 52.8 years. 18.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 2.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16.4% were from 25 to 44; 39.2% were from 45 to 64; and 22.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.8% male and 53.2% female.<ref name=Census2010 />

The median income for a household was $37,457, and the median income for a family was $66,964. Males had a median income of $50,577 versus $26,250 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $26,066. About 12.0% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 19.3% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.<ref name=Census2010 />-->
{{clear|left}}

== Education ==
The town is served by La Veta School District Re-2, which brands itself as La Veta Public Schools.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lvk12.org/en-US?showHomepage=true |title=La Veta Public Schools |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=La Veta Public Schools |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref>

== Climate ==
{{Weather box
|location = La Veta, Colorado (Elevation 7,037ft)
|single line = Y
|collapsed = Yes
|Jan record high F = 70
|Feb record high F = 62
|Mar record high F = 74
|Apr record high F = 79
|May record high F = 85
|Jun record high F = 90
|Jul record high F = 97
|Aug record high F = 94
|Sep record high F = 85
|Oct record high F = 82
|Nov record high F = 75
|Dec record high F = 65
|year record high F = 97
|Jan high F = 46.9
|Feb high F = 47.9
|Mar high F = 48.5
|Apr high F = 57.2
|May high F = 67.6
|Jun high F = 76.7
|Jul high F = 83.7
|Aug high F = 81.1
|Sep high F = 72.9
|Oct high F = 66.3
|Nov high F = 57.3
|Dec high F = 44.0
|year high F = 62.5
|Jan low F = 16.5
|Feb low F = 12.7
|Mar low F = 17.3
|Apr low F = 31.3
|May low F = 37.5
|Jun low F = 43.8
|Jul low F = 53.8
|Aug low F = 50.6
|Sep low F = 41.2
|Oct low F = 31.9
|Nov low F = 24.6
|Dec low F = 13.3
|year low F = 31.2
|Jan record low F = −25
|Feb record low F = −10
|Mar record low F = −17
|Apr record low F = 12
|May record low F = 17
|Jun record low F = 32
|Jul record low F = 42
|Aug record low F = 32
|Sep record low F = 20
|Oct record low F = 5
|Nov record low F = -5
|Dec record low F = −17
|year record low F = −25
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 0.40
|Feb precipitation inch = 1.00
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.42
|Apr precipitation inch = 1.47
|May precipitation inch = 1.63
|Jun precipitation inch = 1.49
|Jul precipitation inch = 3.14
|Aug precipitation inch = 2.50
|Sep precipitation inch = 1.95
|Oct precipitation inch = 0.68
|Nov precipitation inch = 0.40
|Dec precipitation inch = 0.84
|year precipitation inch = 16.94
|Jan snow inch = 9.3
|Feb snow inch = 20.9
|Mar snow inch = 24.0
|Apr snow inch = 13.9
|May snow inch = 1.0
|Jun snow inch = 0
|Jul snow inch = 0
|Aug snow inch = 0
|Sep snow inch = 1.0
|Oct snow inch = 7.9
|Nov snow inch = 5.9
|Dec snow inch = 16.4
|year snow inch = 100.3
|source 1 = The Western Regional Climate Center<ref name="WRCC">{{cite web
| url =http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?co4865| title =Seasonal Temperature and Precipitation Information | access-date =April 14, 2013 | publisher =Western Regional Climate Center }}</ref>
|date=April 2013
}}

== Parks and recreation ==
Nearby Cuchara Valley [[ski resort]] was closed in 2000.  In the Late-2010s the property was re-opened as a Huferno County Park known as Parker-Fitzgerald Cuchara Mountain Park and operated by a non-profit as an all-season resort offering numerous activities. Despite unpredictable snow, residents of La Veta and surrounding towns are attempting to reopen the abandoned ski area with cat-skiing having opened in spring 2023 and trail access to skiers skinning up the season before as they work to revive the dormant chairlifts and have them certified.<ref>{{cite web |title=Small towns reclaim abandoned ski areas as nonprofits |date=April 8, 2023 |author=Brittany Peterson |website=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/small-towns-reclaim-abandoned-ski-areas-nonprofits-98447707#}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Parker-Fitzgerald Cuchara Mountain Park |url=https://www.cucharamountainpark.org/history |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=www.cucharamountainpark.org |language=en}}</ref>

== Notable person ==
* [[Bob McGraw]] (1895–1978), baseball pitcher<ref>{{cite web | title = Bob McGraw | website = Pro-Football-Reference.com | url = https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgrabo01.shtml | access-date = June 17, 2016}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|Colorado}}
*[[Huerfano County, Colorado]]

== References ==
<references />

{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*{{Official website|https://townoflaveta-co.gov/}}
{{Commons category|La Veta, Colorado}}
*[http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/LA%20VETA.pdf CDOT map of the Town of La Veta]
*[http://www.pbase.com/fletcher_hill/la_veta Photos of La Veta and Surroundings]

{{Huerfano County, Colorado}}
{{Colorado|show}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Huerfano County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Towns in Colorado]]