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La Veta was founded in 1862 by Colonel John Francisco and Henry Daigre. The two men decided to settle down in the area. They chose La Veta, a beautiful level piece of ground in a wide sweeping bend of the Cucharas river.... Col. Francisco had secured 1,700 acres upon which he agreed to erect a fort, which was to protect people in the area from Indians, although the nearest neighbor was some 20 miles away. The two joined forces and built the fort and a house and began to farm at La Veta.... Within a few years they were raising bumper crops on a thousand acres, and both had become wealthy. They sold lots to whoever wanted one and the settlement grew. Their village was called Francisco Plaza. It was on land which was once part of the St. Vrain-Vigil land grant. Col. Francisco was born in Virginia. After nine years on the Missouri frontier he led his second merchandise wagon train west to Santa Fe. He bought the La Veta land and built his home, Francisco Plaza, which included a fort with a trading post, and adobe houses built plaza-style around the town square. Stock was brought in for an extensive farm and ranch operation. The Colonel took one look at his new property and announced, "This is paradise enough for me." Former territorial Governor A.C. Hunt of the Denver & Rio Grande rode into the plaza in 1876 and disrupted paradise. Hunt was scouting a path for a railroad. Hunt walked out the train route, and then platted the town. Hunt laid out the town and sold town lots for a railroad terminal at La Veta Pass in 1876. When the D&RG reached La Veta Pass, it was the highest railroad point in the world, 9,300 feet. Today's highway leading to La Veta follows the footstep trail Hunt laid out. The tracks to the pass were narrow gauge, but those to the town were broad gauge by 1894, which meant that cargo was transferred from the smaller to the larger cars, and the La Veta railroad yards were bustling. The privacy and beauty of the settlement were interrupted when the train arrived in 1877. But the rowdies moved on to the next town with the railroad and tranquility was restored and agriculture set the pace. La Veta is the birthplace of the registered Hereford cattle industry in Colorado. Francisco Plaza became La Veta in the mid-1870s. Veta is the Spanish word for vein. The Huerfano County Historical Society acquired Fort Francisco in 1957 and turned it into a frontier museum. La Veta is the second largest city in Huerfano County. It had a larger population than Walsenburg in 1882. Population in 1880 was 165; in the 1890 precinct covering La Veta, it was 1071; 1900, 254; 1950, 701; 1990, 726 and in 2000, 726. To find out more about our area, be sure and check out the Chamber of Commerce website at www.lavetacucharachamber.com |
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