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Aguilar, Colorado

Coordinates: 37°24′10″N 104°39′12″W / 37.4028°N 104.6533°W / 37.4028; -104.6533
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aguilar, Colorado
Statutory Town[1]
Old building on main street of Aguilar, 1946.
Old building on main street of Aguilar, 1946.
Motto: 
"Gateway to the Spanish Peaks"
Location of the Town of Aguilar in Las Animas County, Colorado.
Location of the Town of Aguilar in Las Animas County, Colorado.
Coordinates: 37°24′10″N 104°39′12″W / 37.4028°N 104.6533°W / 37.4028; -104.6533[3]
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
CountyLas Animas[2]
Founded1894
Incorporated (town)January 10, 1894[4]
Government
 • TypeStatutory Town[1]
 • MayorMarc Piano [citation needed]
Area
[5]
 • Total
0.39 sq mi (1.02 km2)
 • Land0.39 sq mi (1.02 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
[3]
6,388 ft (1,947 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
456
 • Density1,163.27/sq mi (448.79/km2)
Time zoneUTC−07:00 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (MDT)
ZIP code
81020[6]
Area code719
FIPS code08-00760
GNIS ID194464
Websiteaguilarco.us

Aguilar is a Statutory Town located in Las Animas County, Colorado, United States.[1] The town population was 456 at the 2020 United States Census.[7] Cattleman and prominent pioneer José Ramón Aguilar founded the town in 1894.[8][9]

History

[edit]

In 1864, a trading post called San Antonio Plaza was created by Agapito Ribali (sometimes misspelled as Rivali or Ruballi) at the current site of the town. The San Antonio post office was established in 1875, and at some point the settlement was renamed to Schultz Plaza after William Schultz, builder of the first store in the settlement. In 1879, J. Ramón Aguilar came to the area and bought the land in and around the settlement.[10][11] The Aguilar, Colorado, post office opened on December 16, 1890,[12] and the Town of Aguilar was incorporated on January 18, 1894,[4] named after the owner of the land.[13]

In 1888, the Peerless coal mine opened close to Aguilar,[14] and in 1892, the Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway built a spur line west from Acme[15] to Aguilar with an additional spur to the mine, which was absorbed by the Colorado and Southern Railway in 1898. An extension of the line was built to Brodhead in 1900 to serve it and other coal mines in the area, such as the Empire, the Gem, and the Green Canyon.[16]

From September 1913 until late April 1914, much of Las Animas County was embroiled by the Colorado Coalfield War, which saw up to 12,000 pro-United Mine Workers of America strikers engaged in both peaceful and violent confrontations with the Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, other mining outfits, strikebreakers, and the Colorado National Guard. On October 29, 1913, the Aguilar post office and several other town structures were destroyed in an arson attack related to the strike. The National Guard arrested several strikers over the attack and handed them over to the federal U.S. Marshal Service.[17]

Following the Ludlow Massacre on April 20, 1914, strikers launched numerous attacks of both coordinated and spontaneous natures against mining operations, strikebreakers, and the National Guard in what is known as the Ten-Day War. One of the attacks was launched against Southwestern Mine Co.'s Empire Mine on April 22, where armed strikers forced non-striking miners and their families into the mine and began an all-night siege outside. After negotiation led by Aguilar's mayor and a church minister named McDonald, the strikers abandoned the siege before fatalities on either side were reported.[18][19]: 186 

Contemporary Aguilar.

Geography

[edit]

Aguilar is located in Las Animas County at coordinates 37°24′10″N 104°39′12″W / 37.4028°N 104.6533°W / 37.4028; -104.6533[3], about one mile west of Interstate 25.

At the 2020 United States Census, the town had a total area of 251 acres (1.016 km2), all of it land.[7]

Climate

[edit]
Climate data for Aguilar
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 38.2
(3.4) 		43.9
(6.6) 		51.7
(10.9) 		60.4
(15.8) 		70
(21) 		81.8
(27.7) 		88.7
(31.5) 		86.8
(30.4) 		78.1
(25.6) 		65.6
(18.7) 		49.2
(9.6) 		40.4
(4.7) 		62.9
(17.2)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 11.9
(−11.2) 		17.1
(−8.3) 		23.8
(−4.6) 		31.6
(−0.2) 		41.7
(5.4) 		51
(11) 		56.7
(13.7) 		55
(13) 		45.7
(7.6) 		33.5
(0.8) 		21.7
(−5.7) 		13.7
(−10.2) 		33.6
(0.9)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.6
(15) 		0.7
(18) 		1.7
(43) 		2.1
(53) 		2.6
(66) 		1.8
(46) 		2.7
(69) 		3.1
(79) 		1.6
(41) 		1
(25) 		1
(25) 		0.7
(18) 		19.6
(500)
Source: Weatherbase[20]

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1900698—
191085822.9%
19201,23644.1%
19301,38311.9%
19401,3971.0%
19501,038−25.7%
1960777−25.1%
1970699−10.0%
1980624−10.7%
1990520−16.7%
200059314.0%
2010538−9.3%
2020456−15.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census[21] of 2000, there were 593 people, 243 households, and 165 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,508.8 inhabitants per square mile (582.6/km2). There were 291 housing units at an average density of 740.4 per square mile (285.9/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 86.00% White, 3.04% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 6.91% from other races, and 3.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 46.54% of the population.

There were 243 households, out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.0% 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 2.93.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 20.2% from 25 to 44, 28.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $23,750, and the median income for a family was $30,815. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,249. About 27.8% of families and 34.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 64.0% of those under age 18 and 25.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

[edit]

Aguilar Public Schools is part of the Aguilar Reorganized School District RE-6. The school district has one elementary school and one junior/senior high school.

Aguilar Elementary School and Aguilar Junior/Senior High School are located in Aguilar.[22]

Infrastructure

[edit]

Transportation

[edit]

Aguilar is part of Colorado's Bustang network. It is on the Trinidad-Pueblo Outrider line.[23]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Active Colorado Municipalities". Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  2. ^ "Colorado Counties". Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Aguilar, Colorado". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  5. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  6. ^ "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. August 18, 2007. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on August 18, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  7. ^ a b "Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data". United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce. August 12, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  8. ^ "Geographic Names Information System Feature Detail Report". USGS. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  9. ^ "The Jose Ramon Aguilar Story". Centennial Aguilar Booklet 1994. Apishapa Valley Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 14, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  10. ^ Walther, Lou (1983). Old Names and Golden Splendors. Boulder, Colorado: Johnson Publishing Company. p. 59. ISBN 0-9612672-2-4.
  11. ^ "Aguilar Centennial". www.kmitch.com. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Place Names of Colorado" (PDF). Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies. 1999. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 27, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  14. ^ "aguilarhistory.com". aguilarhistory.com. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  15. ^ Rand McNally and Company, New railroad, county and township map of Colorado (1898). Denver Public Library Digital Collections, accessed 27/12/2024, https://digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/822146
  16. ^ Ormes, Robert (1992). Tracking Ghost Railroads in Colorado (10th ed.). Colorado Springs, Colorado: Green Light Graphics. pp. 35, 39. ISBN 0-937080-01-2.
  17. ^ Colorado Adjutant General's Office (1914). The Military Occupation of the Coal Strike Zone of Colorado by the National Guard, 1913-1914 (Report).
  18. ^ "30 BESIEGED IN MINE MAY BE SUFFOCATED; Mouth of Slope Blocked by Dynamite Explosions Caused by Strikers". The New York Times. April 23, 1914. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  19. ^ Martelle, Scott (2007). Blood Passion: The Ludlow Massacre and Class War in the American West. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4419-9.
  20. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Aguilar, Colorado". Weatherbase. November 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  21. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  22. ^ "Aguilar Reorganized School District RE-6". Aguilar Reorganized School District RE-6. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  23. ^ "Bustang Schedule". RideBustang. CDOT.
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