WALSENBURG

city, seat (1874) of Huerfano County, southern Colorado, U.S., on the Cucharas River, east of the Sangre de Cristo Range and south of Pueblo, at an altitude of 6,187 ft (1,886 m). Formed in 1873 from a small Spanish village (La Plaza de Los Leones), it was named for Fred Walsen, who organized the community. Walsenburg developed as a coal-shipping point following the arrival (c. 1876) of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. With the decline of coal production, the economy is now based mainly upon agricultural produce, ranching, tourism, and industries including flour milling, saw milling, meat packing, and the manufacture of transportation equipment and sporting goods. Nearby are Huajatolla (a twin-peak spur of the Sangre de Cristos), Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Indian hieroglyphics in Cucharas Canyon, parts of the San Isabel National Forest, and Huerfano Butte, a volcanic remnant. Inc. 1873. Pop. (1990) 3,300.