Four decades or so after the Bents built their fort, the fur trade era had passed into history. The Indian Wars and the buffalo had passed into history. So had the Bents. The railroads were pre-eminent, bringing commerce, settlers, and what passed for civilization to the American West. La Junta was one of the offshoots of the changing times.

On May 15, 1881, the residents of a small village at the side of the rails then running east and west on the south bank of the Arkansas River incorporated and formed themselves as "The City of La Junta." It is said that a herd of antelope ran down what passed for Main Street, leading to the presence of the animals on the city seal today. La Junta was a railroad town from the beginning. In the more than one hundred years since that day in 1881, La Junta has waxed and waned with the fortunes of commerce. In the heyday of rail travel, La Junta was a transportation hub for produce and cattle shipments. Residents in the early part of the century built a town of substance overlooking the low valley of the Arkansas, planting elm trees in profusion as they developed the city's resources.

Today, La Junta sits south of the Arkansas, as before, but now poised to launch into the 21st Century. Consolidation of railroad resources led to downsizing of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe rail presence in the late 80's, with predictably negative effect on the economy. Aggressive actions by concerned citizens and members of the business community led to several light industries moving from out of state or out of the area to La Junta's Industrial Park, north of the city.

And, those elms planted in such plenty nearly a century ago now offer shade and comfort to the streets and avenues of La Junta's older neighborhoods.

The name "La Junta" is of Spanish origin, and is pronounced "La Hunta". It signifies a junction or meeting place, where roads meet and diverge to the mountain passes or to the wide plains. In late 1875, La Junta was established as a stop for the Santa Fe Railroad. It was a terminus for a spur of the the Kansas Pacific Railway, coming in from Kit Carson. La Junta was the main forwarding point for the trade going into New Mexico, Arizona, and the southwestern United States. La Junta was quite lively, with upwards of 500 "mule and bull" teams a common sight around town. In 1877 the Santa Fe was finished down to the south, and the Kansas Pacific spur closed down in mid-1878. By that time, most of the buildings had been moved away, and the town was nearly forsaken. The Santa Fe recognized the value of the location, and built a depot and roundhouse there. By 1879 the Santa Fe RR shops had been established, and La Junta was headquarters for the railroad's Colorado Division

Charles Denny came to La Junta in 1878. He spent his first night in town sleeping on a counter in the railway station. At the time of his arrival there were only two or three buildings left in town. There was no city organization, no school district, no voting precinct, and not much to indicate that there would ever be anything at all. Charles Denny became the agent in charge of the rail station, and then postmaster, and then mayor. He was also president of the school board, and was instrumental in building and furnishing the school. On May 1 1881 he was elected La Junta's first mayor....and as he joined forces with T.T. Woodruff and other influential people, the little town took off on a roll. T.T. Woodruff's influence is most visible today in the presence of the Woodruff Memorial Library. He established the "Young Folks' Library" in 1888.

Today La Junta's city government offers a full range of services to its citizens. Spiritual needs are attended to by a host of churches and places of worship; small business thrives; children go to any of several schools in the district; there are several museums, historical sites, homes on the National Historic Register; the Picketwire Playhouse - where amateur actors produce and star in excellent productions - in short, a host of resources which cause La Junta to be a fine place to settle

The local area is given over to ranching and agriculture...northern Otero County is known for some of the finest melon crops in the world. Although seemingly relatively isolated, La Junta offers a quiet, small town lifestyle augmented by cable television, internet access, and modern communications with larger, more populous areas. The cost of living is low relative to more industrialized locations, drawing in light industry attracted by lower operating costs and a readily available labor pool. It is this attraction which insures the continued viability of our community.