Pagosa Springs, Colorado

History

The town is named for a system of sulfur springs, Pagosa hot springs, located there, which includes the world's deepest geothermal hot spring. The "Mother" spring feeds primitive and developed hot springs located on the upper banks of the San Juan River, which flows through town. The primitive springs are freely accessible to the public, but are generally not for entering or interacting with because of the extreme water temperature. Developed springs feed soaking pools that are hosted by three privately owned soaking locations within town. The water from the "Mother" spring is approximately 144 F.

Local indigenous people used the hot springs for centuries; the area was considered "sacred ground". In Navajo cosmology, Pagosa Springs is the place where the People (Diné) emerged from their Fourth World underground to the Fifth World, this one, as Aileen O'Bryan records in The Dîné: Origin Myths of the Navaho Indians. In 1859, a white settler "discovered" the springs and developed them. In 1881, a bathhouse was first built there for paying customers.

The Ute people called the sulfur-rich mineral springs Pah gosah, which is commonly translated in modern documents as "healing waters"; however according to Bill Hudson writing for the Pagosa Daily Post, a Ute elder once translated the phrase as "water (pah) that has a bad smell (gosah)" whereas the Archuleta County government states that "pagosa" is a Ute word meaning "healing or "boiling water."

After the Civil War, the United States government considered building a convalescent hospital in Pagosa Springs. However, the hospital project was cancelled, and the lands platted by the U.S. Army were sold to private parties who capitalized on the thermal mineral springs. Along the banks of the San Juan river, simple wooden bathhouses were constructed.

In the late 1880s, Dr. Mary Winter Fisher ventured west from Chicago to found a medical and healing practice in Pagosa Springs. The medical center in the town is named after her.

In the 1930s, Cora Woods built a geothermal swimming pool fed with water from the hot springs, along with several small cabins on the Northeast corner of land she purchased from Bill Lynn, a local entrepreneur. There were a total of 23 cabins with no electricity, dirt floors, wood stoves, and oak iceboxes. In the 1950s, the Giordano family purchased the property from Cora Woods. The Giordanos were European coal miners who had settled in the Walsenburg, Colorado area. They dug additional geothermal wells, and built an enclosed bathhouse next to the thermal water swimming pool.

In the 1980s, Pagosa Springs received federal funding from the Department of Energy to drill two geothermal wells to heat buildings in the small downtown area of town. In the 1990s, the town built a new pipeline and municipal bridge to deliver mineral springs water to a new resort.

1911 flood

On October 5, 1911, a flood occurred in Archuleta County, destroying the town's water supply pipeline and all the bridges throughout the county, including the bridges across the San Juan River. A cable was installed across the river providing residents a way to cross, and also to distribute food to those stranded by the flood. Many structures were damaged or destroyed including the electric plant. Train service as well as mail delivery halted in Pagosa Springs due to the train tracks being washed out.

2025 flood

On October 11, 2025 after heavy rainfall the night before, The San Juan River started overflowing and flooded the same day. Several bridges across the San Juan River were damaged, as well as a sewer line that was mounted on one of the bridges, that spilled sewage into the river. The hot springs soaking pools were inundated at The Springs resort with this muddy water and sewage from the flood. Debris, including whole trees, were carried downstream causing a failure of the sewage system lines resulting in a closure of a section of Highway 160,the main road through town, which was already undergoing construction on the town water infrastructure including water, sewer, and geothermal lines as well as the storm drainage infrastructure. Because of the flood damage, residents of Hermosa Street, San Juan Street and east of Hot Springs Boulevard were evacuated. The town called for an evacuation when the San Juan River was surging at 7,200 cubic feet per second. An emergency evacuation center was set up at the Ross Aragon Community Center at 451 Hot Springs Blvd. for evacuees displaced by the flood.

The community's Riverwalk Town Park (colloquially known as Pirate Park), was covered in water along with the neighboring Hermosa Street.

Geography

Pagosa Springs is located 75 km east of Durango. The San Juan River flows through the middle of town.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 12.64 km2, of which 12.57 km2 is land and 0.07 km2, or 0.53%, is water. The area around Pagosa Springs has numerous large waterfalls, including Treasure Falls to the east of town off of Hwy 160 just past the Wolf Creek Pass summit.

Approximately 65 percent of the land in Archuleta County is either San Juan National Forest, Weminuche and South San Juan wilderness areas, or Southern Ute Indian reservation land.

Pagosa Springs is located approximately 35 mi north of the New Mexico border, at 7126 ft above sea level on the Western Slope of the Continental Divide. This combination of high desert plateau and the Rocky Mountains to the north and east creates an unusually mild climate, especially in the summer months. Pagosa sees around 300 days of sun each year, as well as four distinct seasons.

The town is located in the upper San Juan Basin, surrounded by the 3 e6acre San Juan National Forest, and adjacent to the largest wilderness area in the state of Colorado, the Weminuche Wilderness.

Climate

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 1,591 people, 633 households, and 415 families residing in the town. The population density was 363.1 PD/sqmi. There were 746 housing units at an average density of 170.2 /mi2. The racial makeup of the town was 74.61% White, 0.50% African American, 2.20% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 18.73% from other races, and 3.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.18% of the population.

There were 633 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $29,469, and the median income for a family was $33,831. Males had a median income of $24,125 versus $21,406 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,355. About 11.9% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 21.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Archuleta County School District 50-JT operates the community's public schools. Pagosa Springs High School is the comprehensive high school.

Recreation

Other recreational activities in the area include downhill and cross country skiing at nearby Wolf Creek ski area and snowmobiling in the surrounding National Forest. Summertime activities include fishing, hiking, and rafting. The area is also a popular destination for hunters, who harvest elk, deer, and other game animals.

In popular culture

"Downtown Pagosa Springs" was the final destination for a duo of truckers in the 1975 country song "Wolf Creek Pass" by C. W. McCall. From Wolf Creek pass to town, U.S. Highway 160 goes through a vertical drop of 3730 ft, and is described in the song as "hairpin county and switchback city".

Notable people

• Dan Fogelberg, an American singer/songwriter, lived on a working ranch near Pagosa Springs. His recording studio was on the property.
• Ursala Hudson (Tlingit), Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver
• Frank Oppenheimer, American particle physicist, cattle rancher, professor

References

References

1. "Active Colorado Municipalities". [[Colorado.
2. "Mayor". Town of Pagosa Springs.
3. (December 1, 2004). "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". [[Colorado.
4. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
5. United States Census Bureau. "Pagosa Springs Town, Colorado".
6. "ZIP Code Lookup". [[United States Postal Service]].
7. {{GNIS. 2413099
8. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
9. (September 14, 2011). "Colorado claims deepest geothermal hot spring record {{!}} Guinness World Records".
10. "Pagosa Springs Harnesses Geothermal Energy for More Than Hot Springs". Visit Pagosa Springs.
11. (1956). "The Dîné: Origin Myths of the Navaho Indians". Smithsonian Bureau of American Ethnology; Bulletin 163.
12. (2005). "Pagosa Springs - Healing Waters". San Juan Silver Stage; San Juan Publishing Group.
13. "EDITORIAL: Taking the Heat, Part Two | Pagosa Daily Post News Events & Video for Pagosa Springs Colorado".
14. "History of Archuleta County".
15. (May 18, 2020). "Dr. Mary Fisher: Pagosa's Historic Heroine". Pagosa Springs Journal.
16. "About the Pagosa Springs Medical Center". Pagosa Springs Medical Center.
17. "Flood of 1911".
18. (October 13, 1911). "Flood District Short on Food: No Relief In Sight". Democrat-Herald.
19. "US 160 Pagosa Springs Reconstruction project". Archuleta County Government.
20. (14 October 2025). "Some flooding evacuations in southwestern Colorado lifted Tuesday".
21. (12 October 2025). "Evacuations lifted, Highway 160 reopened in Pagosa Springs after "extreme" flooding in southern Colorado town".
22. "San Juan River at Pagosa Springs, Colorado". USGS.
23. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Pagosa Springs town, Colorado". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder.
24. "Pagosa Weather | Pagosa Daily Post News Events & Video for Pagosa Springs Colorado".
25. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
26. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Archuleta County, CO". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
27. "C.W. McCall – Wolf Creek Pass Lyrics {{!}} Genius Lyrics".
28. "The Oppenheimer Chair".