La Junta, Colorado

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Santa Fe Railroad car at the La Junta Depot (Photo ©2004 Wyvonne Phillips)

La Junta is a city in Otero County, Colorado, United States. The population was 7,568 at the 2000 census. La Junta is located in southeast Colorado, on the Arkansas River south of Pueblo. La Junta is home to two well-known museums: Bent's Fort, an important trading post in the old west, and the Koshare Indian Museum, regarded as one of the finest collections of Native American artifacts in the world. The Koshare Indian museum hosts a unique Boy Scout/Explorer program which trains the scouts in both Indian dance and costumes. The scouts give dance performances during the summer and also host many other troops passing through the area.

La Junta is also home of the Picketwire Center for Performing Arts , which offers a wide variety of culture.

Until recently La Junta had a major railyard for the Santa Fe Railroad for assembling trains and adding engines for the climb across the Raton Pass. In addition, in World War II La Junta had an Army Air Force Training Base outside town.

The airport, located 5 miles north of La Junta, it has 77 acres of tarmac and two runways which are still in use. One runway (east-west) is 6,851 feet long and the other is 5,800 feet. [1].

The Caboose (right) is the drive through for the State Bank [2] which was established in 1893. The bank is unique as it has been remodeled with antiques, including a teller line from the late 1890's.

[edit] Geography

La Junta is located at 37°58′53″N, 103°32′51″W (37.981333, -103.547540)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.4 km² (2.8 mi²), all land. La Junta is one of only three places in the United States (Lower 48 states) that is directly across from other pieces of land on the earth.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,568 people, 2,977 households, and 1,964 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,025.3/km² (2,652.0/mi²). There were 3,277 housing units at an average density of 443.9/km² (1,148.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.22% White, 1.22% African American, 1.77% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 18.33% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.60% of the population.

There were 2,977 households out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% 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 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,002, and the median income for a family was $36,398. Males had a median income of $26,325 versus $21,324 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,928. About 16.8% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.