La Veta, Colorado

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Town of La Veta, Colorado
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settlement_type = Town
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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Huerfano County and the state of Colorado


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = USA
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = flag|Colorado
subdivision_type2 = Countycite web | url = http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html | title = Active Colorado Municipalities | format = HTML | publisher = State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs | accessdate = 2007-09-01]
subdivision_name2 = Huerfano
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government_type = Statutory Town
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established_title2 = Incorporated (town)
established_date2 = June 16, 1886cite web | url = http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/muninc.html | title = Colorado Municipal Incorporations | format = HTML | publisher = State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives | date = 2004-12-01 | accessdate = 2007-09-02]
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unit_pref = Imperial
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area_total_km2 = 3.2
area_land_km2 = 3.2
area_water_km2 = 0
area_total_sq_mi = 1.2
area_land_sq_mi = 1.2
area_water_sq_mi = 0
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population_as_of = 2000
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population_total = 924
population_density_km2 = 288.8
population_density_sq_mi = 770
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timezone = Mountain (MST)
utc_offset = -7
timezone_DST = MDT
utc_offset_DST = -6
latd = 37 |latm = 30 |lats = 28 |latNS = N
longd = 105 |longm = 0 |longs = 29 |longEW = W
elevation_footnotes = GR|3
elevation_m = 2145
elevation_ft = 7037
postal_code_type = ZIP codecite web | url = http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp | title = ZIP Code Lookup| format = JavaScript/HTML | publisher = United States Postal Service | accessdate = October 23 | accessyear = 2007]
postal_code = 81055
area_code = 719
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 08-44100
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = [http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:0204782 0204782]
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La Veta is a Statutory Town in Huerfano County, Colorado, United States. The population was 924 at the 2000 census.

Geography

La Veta is located at coor dms|37|30|28|N|105|0|29|W|city (37.507681, -105.008038)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 924 people, 429 households, and 251 families residing in the town. The population density was 747.8 people per square mile (287.7/km²). There were 552 housing units at an average density of 446.7/sq mi (171.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.21% White, 0.22% African American, 0.97% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 2.06% from other races, and 3.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.47% of the population.

There were 429 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $29,342, and the median income for a family was $35,156. Males had a median income of $30,417 versus $21,691 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,489. About 14.6% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 15.3% of those age 65 or over. There is one school in the town of La Veta, La veta RE2. It has a total of 300 students. La Veta has the highest CSAP scores in Huerfano county. The school sports team are the La Veta Redskins, which for the last few years have been going to state tournaments in almost every sport.

History

Colonel John Francisco (1820 – 1902) and Judge Henry Daigre (1832 – 1902) formed a partnership and purchased land under the Vigil-St. Vrain Land Grant in 1868. The land was located on a Native American trail used by the Ute tribe (and earlier the Comanches). Joined by Hiram Washington Vasquez (1843 – 1939), Francisco and Daigre built a plaza known as Francisco Fort to supply the Denver mining camps with products from ranching and farming. Ranches and farms like that of the Bela and Fain families were located nearby.

In Spanish, La Veta, translates as “the mineral vein”, which is apropos, given the town's association with mining claims; like the abandoned mining camp of Ojo which is located a few miles from the town. The concrete foundations of the camp can still be seen upon close inspection. Hiram Vasquez said that the town was named by Mexican settlers from a vein of white mineral which they called “La Veta Tierra Blanca”.

By 1876 the Denver and Rio Grande Railway Company -- later the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad -- built a narrow gauge railroad through a right-of-way to the plaza and convert|200|acre|km2 for a town site donated by Francisco and Daigre. The tracks continued over what is known today as “Old La Veta Pass”, completing a trek up to an elevation of convert|9382|ft|m to a depot built by 1877 in a place known as “Uptop”. The old road, though gravel, can still be traversed by passenger vehicles in good conditions. The new pass, dubbed North La Veta Pass (9,413 ft.), is traversed by US Highway 160, which is paved the entire way.

In 1878, about the journey to the top of Old La Veta Pass, Helen Hunt Jackson wrote:

“From the mouth of the pass to the summit is

Measured in miles – fourteen miles;

Measured in hours – three hours;

Measured in sensations – the length of a dream.”

References

*Christofferson, Nancy C.; Huerfano World Newspaper; Walsenburg, CO.; 1991

*Christofferson, Nancy C.; Coal Was King: Huerfano County's Mining History; 2000; USA

*Denver Daily Tribune; 1877

*Orton, Agnes Bombard and other Southern Colorado Auxiliary of the Territorial Daughters of Colorado; Pioneers of the Territory of Southern Colorado; Volume 2; Monte Vista, Colorado; 1980

External links

* [http://www.dot.state.co.us/App_DTD_DataAccess/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]