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Las Animas County
—  County  —
County of Las Animas
Las Animas County Court House
Las Animas County Courthouse in Trinidad
Country Flag of the United States United States
State Flag of Colorado Colorado
Established February 9, 1866
Named for Animas River
County seat Trinidad
Largest city Trinidad
Area
 • Total 4,775 sq mi (12,370 km2)
 • Land 4,773 sq mi (12,360 km2)
 • Water 2.7 sq mi (7 km2)  0.06%
Highest elevation[1] 13,631 ft (4,155 m)
Time zone Mountain (UTC−7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC−6)
Area code 719
FIPS code 08071
GNIS feature ID 198151
Website lasanimascounty.net
Statue of Liberty replica, Trinidad, CO IMG 5027

Statue of Liberty replica at the Las Animas Courthouse in Trinidad

Las Animas County is one of the 64 counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,555.[2] The county seat is Trinidad.[3] The county takes its name from the Mexican Spanish name of the Purgatoire River, originally called El Río de las Ánimas Perdidas en el Purgatorio, which means "River of the Lost Souls in Purgatory."[4]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,775 square miles (12,370 km2), of which 4,773 square miles (12,360 km2) is land and 2.7 square miles (7.0 km2) (0.06%) is water.[5] It is the largest county by area in Colorado.

Adjacent counties[]

Major highways[]

  • I-25 (CO) Interstate 25
  • Business Loop 25 I-25 Bus.
  • US 160 U.S. Highway 160
  • US 350 U.S. Highway 350
  • Colorado 12 State Highway 12
  • Colorado 109 State Highway 109
  • Colorado 389 State Highway 389

Protected areas[]

  • Comanche National Grassland
  • Lake Dorothey State Wildlife Area
  • James M. John State Wildlife Area
  • San Isabel National Forest
  • Spanish Peaks Wilderness
  • Fishers Peak State Park
  • Trinidad Lake State Park

Historic trails and landmarks[]

  • Mesa de Maya
  • Raton Pass National Historic Landmark
  • Santa Fe National Historic Trail
  • Trinidad State History Museum

Scenic byways[]

  • Highway of Legends Scenic Byway
  • Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1870 4,276
1880 8,903 108.2%
1890 17,208 93.3%
1900 21,842 26.9%
1910 33,643 54.0%
1920 38,975 15.8%
1930 36,008 −7.6%
1940 32,369 −10.1%
1950 25,902 −20.0%
1960 19,983 −22.9%
1970 15,744 −21.2%
1980 14,897 −5.4%
1990 13,765 −7.6%
2000 15,207 10.5%
2010 15,507 2.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2020[2]

At the 2000 census there were 15,207 people, 6,173 households, and 4,092 families living in the county. The population density was 3 people per square mile (1/km2). There were 7,629 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 82.63% White, 0.39% Black or African American, 2.54% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 10.03% from other races, and 3.83% from two or more races. 41.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[10] Of the 6,173 households 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.90% were married couples living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.70% were non-families. 29.70% of households were one person and 14.30% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.97.

The age distribution was 24.20% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 24.00% from 25 to 44, 25.90% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

The median household income was $28,273 and the median family income was $34,072. Males had a median income of $27,182 versus $20,891 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,829. About 14.00% of families and 17.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.00% of those under age 18 and 17.20% of those age 65 or over.

Politics[]

A Democratic stronghold since the days of Franklin Roosevelt after having been solidly Republican during the "system of 1896" like the rest of Hispanic Colorado, Las Animas County has seen a strong trend toward the Republican Party in recent elections. Hillary Clinton's 2016 performance was the worst by a Democrat since John W. Davis in 1924. She was also the first Democrat to lose the county since George McGovern in 1972.

United States presidential election results for Las Animas County, Colorado[11]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 4,284 53.81% 3,497 43.93% 180 2.26%
2016 3,710 54.62% 2,650 39.01% 433 6.37%
2012 3,263 47.55% 3,445 50.20% 154 2.24%
2008 3,086 45.64% 3,562 52.68% 113 1.67%
2004 3,196 48.48% 3,300 50.06% 96 1.46%
2000 2,569 42.16% 3,243 53.22% 282 4.63%
1996 1,905 31.53% 3,611 59.76% 526 8.71%
1992 1,739 26.47% 3,847 58.56% 983 14.96%
1988 2,162 34.15% 4,075 64.37% 94 1.48%
1984 2,992 44.38% 3,670 54.43% 80 1.19%
1980 2,917 39.37% 4,117 55.57% 375 5.06%
1976 2,615 36.45% 4,459 62.15% 101 1.41%
1972 3,659 52.59% 3,222 46.31% 76 1.09%
1968 2,499 33.30% 4,602 61.33% 403 5.37%
1964 1,833 21.68% 6,591 77.97% 29 0.34%
1960 2,989 30.74% 6,704 68.96% 29 0.30%
1956 5,290 50.80% 5,099 48.96% 25 0.24%
1952 4,467 40.74% 6,446 58.79% 51 0.47%
1948 3,452 30.79% 7,586 67.67% 172 1.53%
1944 4,179 37.87% 6,800 61.63% 55 0.50%
1940 4,859 35.53% 8,766 64.10% 50 0.37%
1936 3,333 24.49% 10,220 75.08% 59 0.43%
1932 3,651 28.35% 8,964 69.61% 262 2.03%
1928 5,367 44.74% 6,459 53.85% 169 1.41%
1924 5,698 48.68% 2,758 23.56% 3,250 27.76%
1920 4,707 51.19% 4,167 45.31% 322 3.50%
1916 3,511 38.81% 5,300 58.58% 236 2.61%
1912 4,318 43.82% 3,604 36.57% 1,932 19.61%
1908 5,716 56.39% 4,212 41.55% 209 2.06%
1904 5,218 52.97% 4,486 45.54% 146 1.48%
1900 3,382 44.16% 4,204 54.90% 72 0.94%
1896 1,126 16.90% 5,497 82.50% 40 0.60%
1892 1,276 41.31% 0 0.00% 1,813 58.69%
1888 2,655 46.85% 2,785 49.14% 227 4.01%
1884 1,039 41.73% 1,451 58.27% 0 0.00%
1880 586 30.14% 1,314 67.59% 44 2.26%



Communities[]

Trinidad, CO, Public Library IMG 5020

Public library in Trinidad serves Las Animas County.

Historic American Buildings Survey Frederick D

Santa Nina de Atoche church, Tijeras Plaza, Las Animas County, c.1934

Officercolorado

Philatelic cover postmarked Officer, Colorado on the last day of service. Mail from this discontinued post office was then handled at Villegreen, Colorado, now also a discontinued post office.

City[]

Towns[]

  • Aguilar
  • Branson
  • Cokedale
  • Kim
  • Starkville

Census-designated places[]

  • El Moro
  • Hoehne
  • Jansen
  • Lynn
  • Segundo
  • Stonewall Gap
  • Valdez
  • Weston

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Boncarbo
  • Delhi
  • Earl
  • Model
  • Thatcher
  • Trinchera
  • Tyrone
  • Villegreen

Ghost towns[]

  • Brodhead
  • Delagua
  • Ludlow
  • Madrid
  • Morley
  • Sopris

See also[]

Terrestrial globe Geography
North America 368x348 North America
Portal Colorado
Portal Mountains
  • Outline of Colorado
  • Index of Colorado-related articles
  • Colorado census statistical areas
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Las Animas County, Colorado

References[]

External links[]

Template:Las Animas County, Colorado

Coordinates: 37°19′N 104°02′W / 37.32, -104.04

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Las Animas County, Colorado. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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