Otero County, Colorado
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 22 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near La Junta, Rocky Ford, Manzanola.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Colorado is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Otero titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP13 of 22 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
22 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Stables, Arkansas Valley Fairgrounds | Rocky Ford | 2007 |
| Art Building | Rocky Ford | 1996 |
| Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site NHL | La Junta | 1966 |
| Carnegie Public Library | Rocky Ford | 1995 |
| Finney, Dr. Frank, House | La Junta | 1984 |
| Hart, Wilson A., House | La Junta | 1979 |
| La Junta City Park | La Junta | 2007 |
| Lincoln School | La Junta | 1978 |
| Manzanola United Methodist Church (MUMC) | Manzanola | 2024 |
| North La Junta School | La Junta | 1992 |
| Rocky Ford Post Office | Rocky Ford | 2008 |
| Rourke, Eugene, House | La Junta | 1983 |
| San Juan Avenue Historic District | La Junta | 1980 |
| Santa Fe Railway Manzanola Depot | Manzanola | 2004 |
| Santa Fe Trail Mountain Route Trail Segments-Bloom Vicinity | Bloom | 2016 |
| Santa Fe Trail Mountain Route Trail Segments-Iron Springs Vicinity | Mindeman | 2017 |
| Santa Fe Trail Mountain Route Trail Segments-Timpas Vicinity | Timpas | 2016 |
| Sciumbato, Daniel, Grocery Store | La Junta | 1984 |
| Swink School | Swink | 2025 |
| U.S. Post Office | La Junta | 1976 |
| United Methodist Church of La Junta | La Junta | 2025 |
| Valley View-Hillcrest Cemetery | Rocky Ford | 2024 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBOtero was formed in 1889 (1889-03-25) from Bent.
OTERO created from BENT.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusOtero County population from 1890 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1890 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,192 | 11,522 | 22,623 | 23,571 | 25,275 | 24,128 | 22,567 | 20,311 | 18,690 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Bent's Old Fort Nationa Historic Site | Park unit | 31.0 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS14 cemeteries and 1 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 14 of 14 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Calvary Cemetery |
| East Holbrook Mennonite Cemetery |
| Fairview Cemetery |
| Fowler Cemetery |
| Higbee Cemetery |
| Hillcrest Cemetery |
| Holbrook Cemetery |
| Martinez Cemetery |
| Mountain View Cemetery |
| Otero County Cemetery |
| Saint Paul's Lutheran Cemetery |
| San Jose Cemetery |
| Timpas Cemetery |
| Valley View Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 1 of 1
| Name |
|---|
| Old Fort Bent |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Otero County, Colorado
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.