La Junta, Colorado

City of La Junta, Colorado
City of La Junta, Colorado
	— City —
	Woodruff Block, built 1892. 1985 photo, Historic American Buildings Survey.
	; Seal
	; Seal
	Location in Otero County and the State of Colorado
	Coordinates: 37°58′53″N 103°32′51″W / 37.98139°N 103.54750°WCoordinates: 37°58′53″N 103°32′51″W / 37.98139°N 103.54750°W
Country	United States
State	State of Colorado
County	Otero County Seat
Incorporated	April 23, 1881
	Government
• Type	Home Rule Municipality
• Mayor	Don Rizzuto
• City Manager	Rick Klein
• City Council	Eugene Mestas, Billie Johnson, Jackie Abrams, Bob Friedenberger, Michael Moreno, Bill Schmidt
• City Attorney	Phil Malouff
• Police Chief	G. Todd Quick
	Area
• Total	2.9 sq mi (7.4 km2)
• Land	2.9 sq mi (7.4 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	4,078 ft (1,243 m)
	Population (2000)
• Total	7,568
• Density	2,609.7/sq mi (1,022.7/km2)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	81050
Area code(s)	719
FIPS code	08-42110
GNIS feature ID	0204829
Website	City of La Junta, Colorado

The City of La Junta is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Otero County, Colorado, United States.^[5] The city population was 7,568 at the U.S. Census 2000. La Junta is located on the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado east of Pueblo.

History [edit]

During World War II, La Junta had an Army Air Force Training Base outside town. The airport, located 5 miles (8.0 km) north of La Junta, has 77 acres (31 ha) of tarmac and two runways which are still in use. One runway (east-west) is 6,851 feet (2,088 m) long and the other is 5,800 feet (1,800 m). [1].

The 1973 Terrence Malick film Badlands as well as the 1974 film Mr. Majestyk starring Charles Bronson were both filmed in and around La Junta.

In 1979, the first episodes of the CBS western miniseries The Chisholms, starring Robert Preston, was filmed near La Junta.

The Caboose (pictured below) is the drive through for the State Bank [2] which was established in 1893. The bank is unique as it has been remodeled with antiques, including a teller line from the late 1890s.

Geography and climate [edit]

La Junta is located at 37°58′53″N 103°32′51″W / 37.98139°N 103.54750°W / 37.98139; -103.54750 (37.981333, -103.547540)^[6]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²), all of it land. The area is high plains terrain, dry with short grass prairie and sagebrush.

Climate data for La Junta Municipal Airport (1981–2010)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F (°C)	45.5 (7.5)	49.3 (9.6)	60.0 (15.6)	68.6 (20.3)	78.3 (25.7)	88.9 (31.6)	94.3 (34.6)	91.4 (33)	83.3 (28.5)	70.2 (21.2)	56.3 (13.5)	45.0 (7.2)	69.3 (20.7)
Average low °F (°C)	17.4 (−8.1)	21.1 (−6.1)	29.5 (−1.4)	37.6 (3.1)	47.9 (8.8)	57.4 (14.1)	63.0 (17.2)	61.5 (16.4)	52.0 (11.1)	38.6 (3.7)	26.3 (−3.2)	17.5 (−8.1)	39.2 (4)
Precipitation inches (mm)	0.28 (7.1)	0.35 (8.9)	0.81 (20.6)	1.31 (33.3)	1.60 (40.6)	1.31 (33.3)	1.85 (47)	1.52 (38.6)	0.81 (20.6)	0.83 (21.1)	0.38 (9.7)	0.27 (6.9)	11.34 (288)
Snowfall inches (cm)	3.3 (8.4)	3.1 (7.9)	4.7 (11.9)	2.0 (5.1)	0.7 (1.8)	0.1 (0.3)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.2 (0.5)	0.7 (1.8)	2.8 (7.1)	2.9 (7.4)	21.2 (53.8)
Source: NOAA^[7]

Demographics [edit]

This railroad caboose serves as the drive-up window for The State Bank.

There were 7,568 people, 2,977 households, and 1,964 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,652.0 people per square mile (1,025.3/km²). There were 3,277 housing units at an average density of 1,148.3 per square mile (443.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.22% White, 1.22% African American, 1.77% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 18.33% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.60% of the population.

There were 2,977 households out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,002, and the median income for a family was $36,398. Males had a median income of $26,325 versus $21,324 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,928. About 16.8% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture [edit]

Attractions [edit]

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, an important trading post along the Santa Fe Trail, is northeast of La Junta.
Koshare Indian Museum, housed at Otero Junior College, holds a collection of Native American artifacts. The Koshare Indian museum hosts a unique Boy Scout/Explorer program which trains the Scouts in both Indian dance and costumes. The Scouts give dance performances during the summer and also host many other Scout troops passing through the area.
Purgatoire River track site, one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America, is south of La Junta.
Picketwire Center for Performing Arts, home of the local theater company.

Government [edit]

Politics [edit]

Mayor: Don Rizzuto
City Council: Eugene Mestas, Betty Velasquez, Ron Tomlin, Bob Friedenberger, Michael Moreno, Frank McKenzie.
City Manager: Rick Klein
City Attorney: Phil Malouff
Police Chief: G. Todd Quick
Fire Chief: Aaron Eveatt

Media [edit]

The city is served by a daily newspaper, The Tribune-Democrat.

Infrastructure [edit]

Transportation [edit]

Noted residents [edit]

J. F. Burshears, the founder of the Koshare Indian Dancers
Lane Frost, rodeo star born in La Junta in 1963
Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, was born in La Junta
Wendell Fertig, World War II hero who led the guerrilla resistance against the Japanese on the Philippine island of Mindanao.
Felix Tippy Martinez, major league pitcher born in La Junta. Set a major league record by picking off three base runners off in one inning.
Colorado political leader Dan Slater was born in La Junta.

Gallery [edit]

City welcome sign.
La Junta. Post Office.
Fox Theatre in downtown.
First Baptist Church.
Downtown La Junta with the post office on back right.
La Junta's newspaper is the Tribune-Democrat.
An Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway route map from 1891 issue of Grain Dealers and Shippers Gazetteer.