Buena Vista, Colorado

History

The Arkansas River Valley and the area of what would become Buena Vista was first settled in 1864 by settlers drawn to the area by the plentiful water which made the land suitable for agriculture. The Buena Vista, Colorado, post office opened on September 18, 1879. In 1888, Chaffee County voters moved the county seat from Granite to Buena Vista, but in 1928 voters moved the county seat to Salida which then had a larger population. By 1894, Buena Vista had electricity, telephone service, street lights, parks, cemeteries, and schools. Travelers, speculators, and miners traveling up the Arkansas Valley towards Leadville made Buena Vista a popular stagecoach stop, and railroad depot following the 1890s. While certainly experiencing economic ups and downs, the valley's agricultural economy has made the area more resistant to the 'boom, bust' cycle of mining towns.

Buena Vista is located in central Colorado roughly midway between Salida and Leadville in the Upper Arkansas River Valley at an elevation of 7965 ft. The area between Buena Vista and Salida is often referred to as the Denver & Rio Grande, South Park & Pacific, and Colorado Midland railroads. Many of the existing buildings of Buena Vista date back to this era, and were built in the 1880s and 1890s.

The name "Buena Vista", Spanish for "Good View", can often be heard pronounced locally as . This Americanized pronunciation was specified by Alsina Dearheimer, who chose this name for the town, which was officially selected over other names (Cottonwood, Mahonville) on the occasion of the town's incorporation. Alternate pronunciations include the Spanish and simply . Many residents simply refer to the town as "BV."

Geography

Buena Vista is located in the Upper Arkansas River Valley.

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of 8.942 km2, all of it land.

Climate

Buena Vista has a Semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk), with cold, dry winters and warm, somewhat wetter summers. Altitude and dryness cause the diurnal temperature variation to be high year-round.

| Jan record high F = 71 | Feb record high F = 68 | Mar record high F = 73 | Apr record high F = 89 | May record high F = 92 | Jun record high F = 105 | Jul record high F = 102 | Aug record high F = 94 | Sep record high F = 96 | Oct record high F = 86 | Nov record high F = 80 | Dec record high F = 69 | year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F = 54.4 |Feb avg record high F = 55.5 |Mar avg record high F = 64.5 |Apr avg record high F = 70.9 |May avg record high F = 79.7 |Jun avg record high F = 88.5 |Jul avg record high F = 91.2 |Aug avg record high F = 87.5 |Sep avg record high F = 83.6 |Oct avg record high F = 76.1 |Nov avg record high F = 63.8 |Dec avg record high F = 54.9 |year avg record high F = 91.6

|Jan avg record low F = -7.0 |Feb avg record low F = -5.4 |Mar avg record low F = 5.4 |Apr avg record low F = 12.6 |May avg record low F = 22.3 |Jun avg record low F = 33.4 |Jul avg record low F = 41.7 |Aug avg record low F = 39.6 |Sep avg record low F = 28.0 |Oct avg record low F = 13.5 |Nov avg record low F = 0.6 |Dec avg record low F = -7.4 |year avg record low F = -13.1

| Jan record low F = -37 | Feb record low F = -31 | Mar record low F = -24 | Apr record low F = -9 | May record low F = 6 | Jun record low F = 20 | Jul record low F = 25 | Aug record low F = 25 | Sep record low F = 15 | Oct record low F = -6 | Nov record low F = -23 | Dec record low F = -31 | year record low F = |access-date = December 8, 2023}}{{cite web |access-date = December 8, 2023}}

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,195 people, 978 households, and 622 families residing in the town. The population density was 638.6 PD/sqmi. There were 1,124 housing units at an average density of 327.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 96.81% Caucasian, 0.09% African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.73% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.74% of the population.

There were 978 households, out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $34,800, and the median income for a family was $40,455. Males had a median income of $32,841 versus $25,486 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,920. About 9.4% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

U.S. Route 24 is an east–west highway running from Clarkston, Michigan, to its intersection with Interstate 70 near Minturn, Colorado. Its western terminus is located just 64 mi north of Buena Vista.

The short segment between US 50 at Poncha Springs and US 24 at Buena Vista was originally U.S. Route 650, designated in 1926. US 285 was commissioned in 1936 along its present extent from Sanderson, Texas, to Denver, mostly replacing state-numbered highways.

Chaffee County Road 306 leaves Buena Vista and travels west to the summit of Cottonwood Pass (elevation 12,126 ft). This road is closed during the snowy months, typically late October to April or May, but when open allows travelers a more direct route to Gunnison and Crested Butte than US 50 crossing Monarch Pass to the south of town.

Buena Vista is part of Colorado's Bustang network. It is on the Gunnison-Denver Outrider line.

Notable people

• Christine Arguello (born 1955), federal judge
• Patrick J. Asher, Information Technology expert
• Trace Bundy, acoustic guitar player
• Austin Carlile, vocalist, Of Mice and Men
• Mason Finley, American shot putter and discus thrower
• Luke Flowers, New York Times best-selling Illustrator
• Matt Hemingway, American track and field athlete
• Curtis Imrie, pack burro racer
• Nate Solder, tackle, New York Giants

References

References

1. "Active Colorado Municipalities". [[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]].
2. {{cite gnis
3. "Colorado Counties". [[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]].
4. (December 1, 2004). "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". [[Colorado.
5. (August 12, 2021). "Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data". [[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Department of Commerce]].
6. "ZIP Code Lookup". [[United States Postal Service]].
7. "Buena Vista History". Buena Vista Welcome Center & Chamber of Commerce.
8. "Buena Vista, Colorado Area History | Buena Vista Colorado Chamber of Commerce".
9. (1990). "Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989". [[Colorado Railroad Museum.
10. Stossmeister, Andrew. (September 30, 2023). "BV Beats North Fork".
11. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
12. "Bustang Schedule". CDOT.
13. "Patrick Asher, Inventor".
14. "Luke Flowers, New York Times best-selling Illustrator".