Las Animas County, Colorado

Las Animas County is a county in Colorado, United States, on the state’s southern border with New Mexico. It had a population of 14,555 at the 2020 census and covers 4,775 square miles (12,370 km2) centred near 37°19′N 104°02′W — the largest county by land area in Colorado.

Trinidad is the county seat, and its postal code is 81082. The county has one incorporated city, five incorporated towns, and roughly a dozen unincorporated communities and historic coal-camp sites; Colorado has no civil townships, so places here are grouped simply as incorporated or unincorporated. The county sits in the Mountain time zone.

Towns & Villages in Las Animas County

The table below lists Trinidad, the county’s five incorporated towns, and the unincorporated communities and former coal-mining camps still shown on maps and postal directories. Many of the smaller entries were company coal camps built between 1900 and 1930 in the Purgatoire River canyons southwest of Trinidad; most emptied out when the mines closed by the 1950s, and several exist today only as place names or scattered ruins.

Ludlow, north of Trinidad on the old Colorado & Southern rail line, is the site of the 1914 Ludlow Massacre, when a striking coal miners’ tent colony was attacked during a labor dispute with the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company; it is marked today by a Colorado state historic monument, not an active settlement.

ZIP Codes

• 81082 — Trinidad (also serves Segundo, Jansen and most of the county’s south-central communities)
• 81020 — Aguilar
• 81027 — Branson
• 81024 — Boncarbo
• 81046 — Hoehne
• 81049 — Kim
• 81059 — Model
• 81081 — Trinchera
• 81091 — Weston

Cokedale, Starkville and most of the historic coal-camp sites have no ZIP code of their own and are served by the Trinidad post office.

Geography

Las Animas County spans the transition from the eastern Colorado plains to the southern Rocky Mountains, taking in the Purgatoire River canyon, the Spanish Peaks Wilderness and Trinidad Lake State Park. The Purgatoire River is the county’s principal waterway, running roughly west to east across the southern half of the county before joining the Arkansas River drainage. Elevations range from open shortgrass prairie in the east to forested foothills and mesas above 9,000 feet in the west.

Las Animas County borders Pueblo County and Otero County to the north, Bent County to the northeast, Baca County to the east, Union County and Colfax County in New Mexico to the south, Costilla County to the west, and Huerfano County to the northwest.

Demographics

Las Animas County had a population of 14,555 at the 2020 census, a density of roughly 3 people per square mile across its 4,773 square miles of land — among the lowest densities of any Colorado county given its size. Trinidad is by far the largest community, accounting for well over half the county’s residents; Aguilar is the next-largest incorporated place. Median household income in the county runs well below the Colorado median of $92,911, reflecting a rural, coal-and-ranching economy with a smaller working-age population than the state as a whole.

Economy & Local Life

Coal mining built Las Animas County in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when companies including Colorado Fuel & Iron operated dozens of camps in the canyons south and west of Trinidad; most mines closed by the mid-20th century. Today the economy centers on ranching, tourism tied to Trinidad Lake State Park and the Spanish Peaks, small-scale energy development (coalbed methane and, more recently, wind), and Trinidad State College, a two-year college that anchors the county seat. Trinidad’s historic brick-and-sandstone downtown, built on coal and cattle money, draws visitors along the old Santa Fe Trail corridor.

History

Las Animas County was organized on February 9, 1866, one of Colorado Territory’s original counties, and takes its name from the Purgatoire River — itself a shortened English rendering of the Spanish “El Río de las Ánimas Perdidas en el Purgatorio,” or “River of the Lost Souls in Purgatory.” Trinidad grew as a stop on the Santa Fe Trail and later a coal and rail hub. The county’s defining 20th-century event is the Ludlow Massacre of April 20, 1914, when Colorado National Guard troops and mine guards attacked a striking miners’ tent colony during the Colorado Coalfield War, killing an estimated 21 people including women and children.

Getting There

Interstate 25 runs north-south through the county along the Trinidad corridor, with US 160 and US 350 crossing east-west and US 85/87 following the old Santa Fe Trail alignment.

• Pueblo — 80 miles north
• Colorado Springs — 145 miles north
• Raton, New Mexico — 20 miles south
• La Junta — 55 miles northeast

Perry Stokes Airport in Trinidad handles general aviation; the nearest commercial airport is Colorado Springs Airport, roughly 150 miles north.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Las Animas County?
It is in southern Colorado, United States, on the New Mexico border along the I-25 corridor.

What is the population of Las Animas County?
14,555 people at the 2020 census.

How big is Las Animas County?
4,775 square miles (12,370 km2), the largest county by area in Colorado.

What is the county seat of Las Animas County?
Trinidad is the county seat.

How many towns are in Las Animas County?
One incorporated city (Trinidad) and five incorporated towns (Aguilar, Branson, Cokedale, Kim and Starkville), plus a number of unincorporated communities and former coal-camp sites.

What ZIP codes are in Las Animas County?
Nine ZIP codes serve the county, led by 81082 for Trinidad; see the ZIP Codes section above.

What happened at Ludlow?
The Ludlow Massacre of April 20, 1914 took place at a striking miners’ tent colony in the county during the Colorado Coalfield War.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Colorado.