City of La Junta Directory

Airport
(719) 384-8407

 

City Clerk
(719) 384-5991

 

City Manager
(719) 384-2578

 

Economic Development
(719) 468-1439

 

Electric Department
(719) 384-7251

 

Electric After Hours:
(719) 384-2611

 

Engineering
(719) 384-5991

 

Finance/Sales Tax
(719) 384-5991

 

Fire Department
(719) 384-2323

 

Municipal Court
(719) 363-1246

 

Parks & Recreation
(719) 384-5991

 

Police Department
(719) 384-2525

 

Pool
(719) 384-7531

 

Purchasing
(719) 384-7546

 

Senior Center/Transit
(719) 384-5486

 

Tourism
(719) 468-1439

 

Utilities Office
(719) 384-2546

 

Water/Sewer
(719) 384-7358

 

Woodruff Memorial Library
(719) 384-4612

Information

Incorporated on April 23, 1881; a statutory city from 1881—1967; the April 30, 1968 election made La Junta become a home rule city with a council-manager form of government. The name “La Junta” is Spanish for junction or meeting place, and is pronounced “La Hunta”. La Junta was truly the place where the rails and roads met and diverged to the mountain passes or the wide plains. La Junta’s population is approximately 7,100.

La Junta is located in Southeast Colorado, about 60 miles east of Pueblo. The county seat of Otero County, La Junta has for more than a hundred years formed a junction for commercial, agricultural, and ranching ventures. Before that, La Junta was the junction where the Santa Fe Trail branched south to New Mexico, while a lesser route continued west to Pueblo and beyond. The Santa Fe Trail was one of the nation’s first great trade routes.

Our town sits on the south bank of the Arkansas River in what is primarily shortgrass prairie country. The mountains for which Colorado is so famous can be seen to the west, but this is rolling prairie land. Farming dominates the landscape in a narrow corridor along the river, while a short excursion north or south of US Highway 50 brings travelers to miles upon miles of grasslands.

We are home to Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center and specialty clinics, as well as a number of retirement communities. We boast East Otero School District, and Otero College. Otero hosts a number of athletics,, technical certificate programs, a nursing program, law enforcement academy and more. The City hosts a number of light industries and an airport in an Industrial Park north of town, a railyard, and a quaint downtown business district.

Our numerous parks serve as centers for community activity. The fountain in City Park serves as a backdrop to kids fishing and playing; our ball fields are filled with tournaments of all kinds, all summer long. We have roadside Farm Markets, and ties to our railroading past and our history that go back before the fur trade. 

La Junta’s History

La Junta first arose in 1873 in what was then Bent County Colorado. It was established by the end rail spur owned by the Kansas Pacific Railroad. In early 1875, the railroad went out of business and the town dried up and almost became extinct. In early 1876, the Santa Fe Railroad built its line where the Kansas Pacific had been and further west and south. La Junta rose from its own ashes and became a town once more. In 1881, La Junta was incorporated as a town in Colorado, Bent County.

In 1884, Jim Marshall and 16 others set up tents and a gambling operation in the town park where the County courthouse now stands. The town marshal was there gambling when Mayor J.C. Denny came by. The mayor fired the town marshal on the spot. Later, the City Council re-hired the marshal by one vote. The mayor fired him again. This time, the City Council elected the famous Bat Masterson as town marshal and Jim Marshall as his deputy. The mayor did not want Masterson as town marshal because he was not a citizen of La Junta or Colorado, but of Dodge city, Kansas. The council overruled his objections.

Bat had recently come from Pueblo where he was hired out as a gunman for the Santa Fe R.R. in its property war with the Denver Rio Grande R.R. The mayor then went to Pueblo to see the mayor there for some help. Mayor Denny returned with six “gunmen” who Bat fought on the Denver Rio Grande’s side of the rail war. Among these gunmen were famous gunfighters Ben Thompson and Colorado’s own Jim Ketcher. Also reputed to be among them were Ed and Frank Miller and none other than Doc Holiday, whom Bat knew from his friend Wyatt Earp, but disliked a lot.

The mayor then made them deputy marshals under Masterson and paid them $10.00 a day to pressure Masterson to quit. After five weeks, Bat Masterson turned in his badge along with Jim Marshall. Bat had decided that he would either quit or be involved in a massive gunfight with his own deputies. After Masterson quit, he went to Las Animas where he was town marshal for a while before he moved to Denver where he hung up his guns and became a prize fight promoter.

La Junta Today

Today, La Junta may be considered a small town but it has amenities that are missing in much larger towns. La Junta is located on historic U.S. Highway 50, the “Coast to Coast Highway,” in the heart of Southeast Colorado’s farming and ranching country.

Some of the finest melons in the world are grown in Otero County – the Rocky Ford cantaloupes. During the summer months, the Farm Markets in the La Junta area offer fresh produce from their stands along Highway 50.

Between the La Junta Livestock Commission and Winter Livestock, La Junta is the second largest market for feeder cattle and calves in the country behind Oklahoma City. Take in a live cattle auction while you are here. It is a once in a lifetime experience to some, but a weekly way of life for a great number of ranchers in the Arkansas Valley.

Today you can easily travel and explore the Old Santa Fe trail by car. History is evident all throughout the area. Faint traces of the old wagon ruts can still be seen just outside of La Junta and along Highway 350 to Trinidad at various locations.

To learn more about La Junta and all we have to offer, visit our Tourism website.

Website Accessibility Standards

The city website is set up to provide information to the citizens with as few clicks, searches, and distractions as possible. It is not designed as an entertainment or tourism or shopping site. The lack of colorful imagery is deliberate, making it easier to comply with accessibility standards set forth through HB21-1110. If there are issues with such accessibility, please contact the Info Office at (719) 384.5991 so such problem(s) can be addressed forthwith.

Non-City Phone Numbers

County Clerk
(719) 383-3020

 

County Court
(719) 384-4721

 

District Attorney
(719) 384-8786

 

District Court
(719) 384-4951

 

DMV in La Junta
(719) 384-2801

 

Otero County Dept of Human Services
(719) 383-3166

 

Otero County
(719) 383-3000

 

Parole
(719) 383-0404

 

Probation Department
(719) 384-5973

 

Sheriff
(719) 384-5941

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