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Colorado State...
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Colorado Counties
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Colorado Counties
Colorado currently has sixty-four counties. The counties of Colorado are important components
of government since the state has no secondary civil subdivisions such as townships. Two counties, the City and
County of Denver and the City and County of Broomfield, have consolidated city and county governments..
No organized counties of the District of Louisiana, the Territory of Missouri, or the Territory of Nebraska
existed within the present boundaries of the State of Colorado. |
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Custer County, Colorado
Custer County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Westcliffe
Year Organized: 1877
Square Miles: 739
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Court House: P.O. Box 150
County Courthouse
Westcliffe, CO 81252-0518
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Custer County is named in honor of George Armstrong Custer, the U.S. Army Colonel defeated at the
Battle of Little Bighorn.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Custer County was created by the Colorado legislature on March 9, 1877, out of the southern half of Fremont County.
Originally set in Ula, the county seat moved to Rosita in 1878, and to Silver Cliff in 1886 before settling in
Westcliffe in 1928. It was named in honor of Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, who had died the previous year.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 740 square miles (1,916 kmē), of
which, 739 square miles (1,914 kmē) of it is land and 1 square miles (3 kmē) of it (0.14%) is water.
The county is very rugged and would be virtually inaccessible without roads. The lowest point of the
county is around 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in elevation, but most of the county is rugged and mountainous.
The county seat of Westcliffe is about 7,800 feet (2,400 m) and along with nearby town Silver Cliff lies
in the Wet Mountain Valley which sits at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The peaks of the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the west reach heights in excess of 14,000 feet (4,300 m) with Crestone
Peak being the highest at 14,294 feet (4,357 m) and 7th highest fourteener in Colorado.
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Fremont County
- East: Pueblo County
- Southeast: Huerfano County
- West: Saguache County
Cities and Towns:
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- Silver Cliff |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Westcliffe
(County Seat) |
town |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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