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A−History
History · La Junta

La Junta’s post office opened in 1876, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #12 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 10 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1890.

1876first post office
9on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From La Junta’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How La Junta began

When was La Junta founded?

1876

The La Junta post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1881.

First census: 1,439 in 18902020 census: 7,322150 years

How historic is La Junta?

A−

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first La Junta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1881.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives La Junta’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Junta is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #12 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of La Junta’s overall grade.
Founding era1876, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194024.8% of homes (±7.8) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register9 listings, 17 historic buildings, 23.8 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 93%

Few Colorado towns list much on the Register (a typical Colorado town has 1.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so La Junta’s 23.8 sits above most of its state (81% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 17 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1881 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about La Junta’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1919, drew every building in La Junta.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1933–1996.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.Old housesHalf of La Junta’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Every building

La Junta, building by building, 1886–1919

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

La Junta fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

La Junta, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s5 items
EAST SIDE OF REAR PORTION - Woodruff Block, 22-24 West First Street1933EAST SIDE OF REAR PORTION - Woodruff Block, 22-24 Wes…Living quarters of Mexicans at La Junta, Colorado1939Living quarters of Mexicans at La Junta, ColoradoSign on municipal building. La Junta, Colorado1941Sign on municipal building. La Junta, ColoradoChain stores on main street of La Junta, Colorado1941Chain stores on main street of La Junta, ColoradoUntitled photo, possibly related to: Chain stores on main street of La Junta, Colorado1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Chain stores on …
1950s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s–1990s7 items
Train yard1980Train yardKey Santa Fe Railroad switching yard1980Key Santa Fe Railroad switching yardBent's Old Fort National Historic Site on the Santa Fe Trail in eastern Colorado1980Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site on the Santa F…Santa Fe Trail - Koshare Dancers in a Parade on Santa Fe Trail1995Santa Fe Trail - Koshare Dancers in a Parade on Santa…Santa Fe Trail - La Junta Skatepark1995Santa Fe Trail - La Junta SkateparkSanta Fe Trail - Otero Schoolhouse and Museum1995Santa Fe Trail - Otero Schoolhouse and MuseumLa Junta CO 19961996La Junta CO 1996
Today15 recent
Pioneer wagons Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in Otero County, Colorado2015Pioneer wagons Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in O…Pioneer wagons Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in Otero County, Colorado2015Pioneer wagons Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in O…Pioneer wagons Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in Otero County, Colorado2015Pioneer wagons Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in O…A downtown building with an idiosyncratic, 1970s-style aluminum facade2015A downtown building with an idiosyncratic, 1970s-styl…Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in Otero County, Colorado2015Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in Otero County, Co…Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in Otero County, Colorado2015Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in Otero County, Co…Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in Otero County, Colorado2015Bent's Old Fort, outside La Junta in Otero County, Co…The grand facade of the La Junta Post Office is one of the architectural gems of La Junta, Colorado's downtown2015The grand facade of the La Junta Post Office is one o…The First Baptist Church2015The First Baptist ChurchReeder Family Postcards 1905-872012Reeder Family Postcards 1905-87PostcardReeder Family Postcards 1905-852012Reeder Family Postcards 1905-85PostcardReeder Family Postcards 1905-162012Reeder Family Postcards 1905-16PostcardLaJunta, CO, welcome sign IMG 56822010LaJunta, CO, welcome sign IMG 5682La Junta, Colorado, In the Arkansas Valley, On the Colorado Trail - Large Letter Postcard2010La Junta, Colorado, In the Arkansas Valley, On the Co…DocumentCOMap-doton-LaJunta2005COMap-doton-LaJunta
On the National Register

9 historic places in La Junta

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
17
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
U.S. Post Office
U.S. Post OfficeLincoln SchoolWilson A. Hart House, built 1898San Juan Avenue Historic DistrictEugene Rourke HouseDr. Frank Finney House, built 1899Sciumbato, Daniel, Grocery Store, built 1908La Junta City ParkUnited Methodist Church of La Junta
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian2
Spanish Colonial1
Queen Anne1
Colonial Revival1
Edwardian Vernacular1
WPA Rustic1
U.S. Post OfficeSpanish Colonial
Lincoln SchoolBuilding
Wilson A. Hart HouseVictorian · Built 1898
San Juan Avenue Historic DistrictQueen Anne
Eugene Rourke HouseVictorian
Dr. Frank Finney HouseEdwardian Vernacular · Built 1899
Sciumbato, Daniel, Grocery StoreBuilt 1908
La Junta City ParkWPA Rustic
All 9 listings
United Methodist Church of La JuntaBuilding · listed 2025

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How La Junta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of La Junta.

Read it all →

La Junta (Spanish for 'the junction') was named for the fact it rested at the intersection of the Santa Fe Trail and a pioneer road to Pueblo. The town developed near Bent's Fort, a fur trading post of the 19th century. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway passed through La Junta, with a branch line to Denver separating here.

During World War II, La Junta had an Army Air Force Training Base outside town. An Air Force detachment of the Strategic Air Command remained there until modern flight simulators developed in the 1980s rendered live flight unnecessary for pilot training maneuvers. At least one military aircraft crashed closeby during such training maneuvers.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

La Junta, 1876 to 1995

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe La Junta post office opens
  3. 1898BuiltWilson A. Hart House is built
  4. 1899BuiltDr. Frank Finney House is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1908BuiltSciumbato, Daniel, Grocery Store is built
  7. 1933In the archiveEAST SIDE OF REAR PORTION - Woodruff Block, 22-24 West First Street
  8. 1941In the archiveSign on municipal building. La Junta, Colorado
  9. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1980In the archiveTrain yard
  11. 1995In the archiveSanta Fe Trail - Koshare Dancers in a Parade on Santa Fe Trail
On the map

La Junta on the map, 1966 to 1996

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of La Junta. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

La Junta on the 1966 USGS mapLa Junta on the 1984 USGS mapLa Junta on the 1996 USGS map1966La Junta sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of La Junta.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

EAST SIDE OF REAR PORTION - Woodruff Block, 22-24 West First Street
Retake this viewEAST SIDE OF REAR PORTION - Woodruff Block, 22-24 West First Street, 1933

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on La Junta’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

La Junta, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 8,338

Between 1,439 and 8,338 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on La Junta’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

La Junta’s post office has been open since 1876.

Gone or out of use
Atchinson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Hospitalhospital
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside La Junta
CalvaryFairview

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish La Junta’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEAST SIDE OF REAR PORTION - Woodruff Bl…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about La Junta’s history

What year was La Junta founded?

The La Junta post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1881.

How does La Junta rank for history?

La Junta is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #12 of 159 in Colorado. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in La Junta?

9 listings: 7 buildings, among them the U.S. Post Office (listed 1976, the first), and 2 historic districts, the San Juan Avenue Historic District and the La Junta City Park, with 10 contributing buildings. 17 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in La Junta?

25% of La Junta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1960.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (16), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.