Fort Garland, Colorado

Last updated
Fort Garland, Colorado
Census Designated Place
Fort Garland, Colorado.JPG
Fort Garland from the south.
Costilla County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Fort Garland Highlighted.svg
Location of the Fort Garland CDP in Costilla County, Colorado.
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Fort Garland
Location of the Fort Garland CDP in the United States.
Coordinates: 37°25′40″N105°26′06″W / 37.4279161°N 105.4350076°W / 37.4279161; -105.4350076 (Fort Garland CDP, Colorado) Coordinates: 37°25′40″N105°26′06″W / 37.4279161°N 105.4350076°W / 37.4279161; -105.4350076 (Fort Garland CDP, Colorado) [1]
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of Colorado.svg  Colorado
County Costilla County
Established1858
Government
[2]
 • Type unincorporated town
Area
[1]
 • Total0.376 sq mi (0.973 km2)
 • Land0.376 sq mi (0.973 km2)
 • Water0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation
[2]
7,936 ft (2,419 m)
Population
 (2020) [3]
 • Total464
 • Density1,200/sq mi (480/km2)
Time zone UTC-7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code [4]
81133
Area code 719
GNIS feature [2] Fort Garland CDP

Fort Garland is an unincorporated town, a post office, and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Costilla County, Colorado, United States. The Fort Garland post office has the ZIP Code 81133. [4] At the United States Census 2020, the population of the Fort Garland CDP was 464. [3]

Contents

History

Fort Garland was established by the US Army in June 1858 to protect settlers from the Utes in the San Luis Valley, which was then part of the New Mexico Territory. The fort was abandoned in 1883 following the confinement of the tribes to Indian reservation in Utah territory and Colorado. The Fort Garland Museum preserves some of the historic buildings from the fort. [5]

Geography

Mount Lindsey and Iron Nipple, Sangre de Cristo Range, taken from along C-159, about five miles south of Fort Garland Mount Lindsey and Iron Nipple.jpg
Mount Lindsey and Iron Nipple, Sangre de Cristo Range, taken from along C-159, about five miles south of Fort Garland

Fort Garland is located at an elevation of 7,936 ft (2,419 m) in northern Costilla County. [6] Fort Garland is at the crossroads of U.S. Route 160 and Colorado State Highway 159, which leads south towards Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The town of Blanca is 4 miles (6.4 km) west on U.S. Route 160. Walsenburg is 47 miles (76 km) to the east, across the Sangre de Cristo Range.

The Fort Garland CDP has an area of 240 acres (0.973 km2), all land. [1]

Demographics

The United States Census Bureau initially defined the Fort Garland CDP for the United States Census 2000.

Fort Garland CDP, Colorado
YearPop.±%
2000 432—    
2010 433+0.2%
2020 464+7.2%
Source: United States Census Bureau

Modern amenities

Ute Cafe in Fort Garland Wagon and sign for the Ute Cafe in Fort Garland, Colorado LCCN2015632578.tif
Ute Cafe in Fort Garland

Fort Garland is referred to as the "Gateway to the San Luis Valley", as it is the first town one encounters when traveling west having crossed over La Veta Pass in the Sangre de Cristo Range. Fort Garland is home to many artists, painters, crafters and internationally known musicians.

Fort Garland has a business district with two motels, several restaurants, the Old Fort Market grocery store, the Fort Garland Museum, two gas stations, two recreational marijuana shops, a car wash, hair salon, campgrounds, hardware store, liquor store, and multiple shops featuring collectibles and antiquities as well as a Wild West show.

The Annual Fort Garland Band Jam Music Festival features local and regional musicians, as well as nationally and internationally recognized musical talent. This summer event, usually held in mid-July, includes an open-air market, local food vendors offering up traditional and regional cuisine, a beer garden, and children's activities. The music offered covers numerous styles, from traditional Spanish guitar to R&B to rock and roll.

The Blanca/Fort Garland Community Center is open to residents and the public on daily, monthly or annual fees.

The Entrada Visitor's Center offers information on local and regional points of interest, such as the Great Sand Dunes, the Colorado 'Gator farm, UFO Watchtower and other activities located within the San Luis Valley.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Luis Valley</span> High-altitude basin in Colorado and New Mexico in the United States

The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately 122 miles (196 km) long and 74 miles (119 km) wide, extending from the Continental Divide on the northwest rim into New Mexico on the south. It contains 6 counties and portions of 3 others. It is an extensive high-elevation depositional basin of approximately 8,000 square miles (21,000 km2) with an average elevation of 7,664 feet (2,336 m) above sea level. The valley is a section of the Rio Grande Rift and is drained to the south by the Rio Grande, which rises in the San Juan Mountains to the west of the valley and flows south into New Mexico. The San Luis Valley has a cold desert climate but has substantial water resources from the Rio Grande and groundwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Costilla County, Colorado</span> County in Colorado, United States

Costilla County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,499. The county seat is San Luis, the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alamosa East, Colorado</span> Census Designated Place in Colorado, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanca, Colorado</span> Town in Colorado, United States

The Town of Blanca is a Statutory Town located in Costilla County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 322 at the 2020 census. Blanca is located in the enormous San Luis Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Luis, Colorado</span> Town in Colorado, United States

San Luis is a statutory town that is the county seat and the most populous town of Costilla County, Colorado, United States. Formerly known as San Luis de la Culebra, it is the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado. The population was 629 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanca Peak</span> Mountain in Colorado, United States

Blanca Peak is the fourth highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The ultra-prominent 14,351-foot (4,374 m) peak is the highest summit of the Sierra Blanca Massif, the Sangre de Cristo Range, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The fourteener is located 9.6 miles (15.5 km) north by east of the Town of Blanca, on the drainage divide separating Rio Grande National Forest and Alamosa County from the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant and Costilla County. The summit is the highest point of both counties and the entire drainage basin of the Rio Grande. Below the steep North Face of Blanca Peak two live Glaciers once developed, until extinction sometime after 1903. North & South Blanca Glaciers were located at 37° 35N.,longitude 105° 28W. Blanca Peak is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Lindsey</span>

Mount Lindsey is a high mountain summit on the Sierra Blanca Massif in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,048-foot (4,282 m) fourteener is located in the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, 10.8 miles (17.4 km) north of the community of Fort Garland in Costilla County, Colorado, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Bear Peak</span>

Little Bear Peak is a high mountain summit in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,043-foot (4,280 m) fourteener is located on the Sierra Blanca Massif, 8.8 miles (14.2 km) north by east of the Town of Blanca, Colorado, United States, on the drainage divide separating Rio Grande National Forest and Alamosa County from the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant and Costilla County. Little Bear lies 0.96 miles (1.54 km) southwest of Blanca Peak, the ultra prominent fourteener that is the highest point of the massif.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chama, Colorado</span> Unincorporated community in State of Colorado, United States

Chama is an unincorporated community and U.S. Post Office in Costilla County, Colorado, United States. The ZIP Code of the Chama Post Office is 81126.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard, Colorado</span> Census-designated place in Fremont County, Colorado, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Acacio, Colorado</span> Census Designated Place in Colorado, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sangre de Cristo Ranches, Colorado</span> Unincorporated community in Colorado, United States

Sangre de Cristo Ranches is an unincorporated community located near Fort Garland in Costilla County, Colorado, United States. The U.S. Post Office at Fort Garland serves Sangre de Cristo Ranches postal addresses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Garland</span> United States historic place

Fort Garland (1858–1883), Colorado, United States, was designed to house two companies of soldiers to protect settlers in the San Luis Valley, then in the Territory of New Mexico. It was named for General John Garland, commander of the Military District of New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Segundo, Colorado</span> Census Designated Place in Colorado, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinchera Creek</span> River

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonewall Gap, Colorado</span> Census Designated Place in Colorado, United States

Stonewall Gap is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population of the Stonewall Gap CDP was 67 at the United States Census 2010. The Weston post office serves the area.

The Sangre de Cristo Land Grant in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico consists of 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km2) of mostly arid land. It was awarded by the government of New Mexico to the Beaubien family in 1843. The land grant was originally settled by Hispanics from New Mexico. Since the incorporation of the area of the grant into the United States in 1848, legal disputes between the descendants of the Hispanic settlers and Anglo ranchers about ownership of and access to some of the land in the grant area have been frequent and continued into the 21st century.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "State of Colorado Census Designated Places - BAS20 - Data as of January 1, 2020". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "U.S. Board on Geographic Names: Domestic Names". United States Geological Survey . Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  3. 1 2 United States Census Bureau. "Fort Garland CDP, Colorado" . Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Look Up a ZIP Code". United States Postal Service . Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  5. ↑ Fort Garland
  6. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
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