Formed November 1, 1861 (9th county)
Huerfano County (6,816), Walsenburg (3,049)
An old stone courthouse for Huerfano County was built in 1904. The structure is located on Main Street between 4th and 5th streets. United States Highways 85/87 are Main Street through Walsenburg. C. A. Henderson provided the Romanesque style designs. It features a tower. Huerfano County was one of the original Colorado counties formed on November 1, 1861. It is the 9th county. Walsenburg has always been the county seat. Store merchant Fred Walsen provided his name for the county seat. The county’s name means “orphan” in Spanish and was named for an isolated butte located in the county. The center of the county is 14.6 miles West of Walsenburg.
Huerfano County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, manager, coroner, and treasurer (executive). It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.) Two District Court Judges serve Huerfano and Las Animas counties and a Trial Court Judge, clerk, and county attorney serve Huerfano County (judicial.) Huerfano County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners. serves Huerfano County. The county is in southern Colorado. The Huerfano and Cucharas rivers flow intermittently through the county. The county is surrounded clockwise by Pueblo, Las Animas, Costilla, Alamosa, Saguache, and Custer counties.
The area of the county is 1592.4 square miles. The county is 30 out of 64 in the state. It ranks 44 out of 64 in population in the state. It has a density of 4.3 persons per square mile making it 46 out of 64 in the state. Huerfano County has 57.3% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 25 crosses north to south in the eastern part of the county, Pueblo County to Las Animas County. United States Highways 85/87 are joined with Interstate Highway 25 from Pueblo County to Las Animas County. United States Highway 160 comes in from the west (Costilla County), joins with Interstate Highway 25 at Walsenburg, and exits south (Las Animas County). There is hardly a straight line border for the county so the arrow head pointing northeast comes close to describing the shape. Walsenburg is located in the southeast quarter of the county. Walsenburg is the county seat and the largest city. It is 44.7% of the county population. The county is pronounced WAER-FA-NOE.
La Veta
Walsenburg
