Farisita, Colorado

Last updated
Farisita, Colorado
unincorporated community
Montoya Ranch.JPG
The Montoya Ranch in Farisita, December 2014.
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Farisita
Location of Farisita, Colorado.
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Farisita
Farisita (Colorado)
Coordinates: 37°44′41″N105°04′17″W / 37.7447°N 105.0714°W / 37.7447; -105.0714 (Farisita, Colorado) [1]
Country United States
State Colorado
County Huerfano [2]
Government
 • Type unincorporated community
 • Body Huerfano County [2]
Elevation
[1]
6,651 ft (2,027 m)
Time zone UTC−07:00 (MST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−06:00 (MDT)
ZIP codes [3]
81040 (Gardner)
81089 (Walsenburg)
GNIS place ID 192689

Farisita is an unincorporated community located in and governed by Huerfano County, Colorado, United States. [1]

Contents

History

Fort Talpa

Fort Talpa, a Spanish adobe post, was built in the 1820s as a means of protection from possible attacks by Native Americans. [4] In the 1870s, the fort was included as part of the town of Huerfano Cañon. In 1941, it was still standing next to the newer town of Farisita's general store. [5]

Town

The Farisita, Colorado, post office operated from April 24, 1923, until April 7, 1990. [6] The Gardner, Colorado, post office (ZIP code 81040) and the Walsenburg, Colorado, post office (ZIP code 81089) now serve Farisita postal addresses. [3] An early postmaster named the town for his daughter, Jeanette "Farisita" Faris, the nickname being Spanish for little Faris girl. [7] Jeanette would later go on to run the post office and store herself. The Faris family cemetery is located at the town site, and has been in constant use since its creation, with Faris family members buried there as recently as 2010. [8] The town had a morada, or meeting house, for the religious group Los Hermanos Penitentes . It was located across the river and among the trees. [5]

Montoya Ranch

The Montoya Ranch is located at Farisita and features the only adobe building in Colorado or New Mexico with a full adobe basement. It was originally built in 1869 by the Montoya family and was later occupied by the Lebanese Faris family who used the building as a store and post office. [9]

Geography

Farisita is located in Huerfano County at coordinates 37°44′41″N105°04′17″W / 37.7447°N 105.0714°W / 37.7447; -105.0714 (Farisita, Colorado) and elevation 6,651 feet (2,027 m). [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Farisita, Colorado". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Colorado Counties". Colorado Department of Local Affairs . Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service . Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ Jolie Anderson Gallagher (April 2, 2013). Colorado Forts: Historic Outposts on the Wild Frontier. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. PT8. ISBN   978-1-61423-903-1.
  5. 1 2 Best Books (1941). Colorado, a Guide to the Highest State. Best Books. p. 350. ISBN   978-1-62376-006-9.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  6. ↑ Bauer, William H.; Ozment, James L.; Willard, John H. (1990). Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989. Golden, Colorado: Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation. ISBN   0-918654-42-4.
  7. ↑ Dawson, John Frank (1954). Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 21.
  8. ↑ http://www.chieftain.com/obituaries/faris-mary-alice/article_5478c0ee-123a-11e0-b7c9-001cc4c002e0.amp.html [ dead link ]
  9. ↑ "Montoya Ranch". 31 October 2016.
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