5.56 Acre Cotopaxi Colorado (SOLD) #18-024

About the Region:

The township was named after Cotopaxi Volcano, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, located in Ecuador. Henry Thomas was the man responsible for naming Cotopaxi. He was an early prospector to the western territory in the mid-nineteenth century. Cotopaxi is also known for its early failed colony of approximately 63 Russian-Jewish immigrants who first settled there in early 1882. These colonists, most of whom were related, traveled to Colorado in hopes of starting a successful farming community and to reap the benefits of the new Homestead Act, which would grant each head male of a family 160 acres of land. When the colonists arrived in Cotopaxi, they discovered that only half of the houses that were promised to be built upon their arrival had actually been erected; this forced many of the families to live out of small makeshift canvas houses during the first winter. In addition to the housing problems, the colonists faced an extreme shortage of supplies that were needed to support them through the first winter and to plant their crops. Desperate to plant their crops, the colonists soon opened large lines of credit with the local store to buy the seeds and equipment they needed to get their crops planted. The variety of crops that the colonists chose to plant mostly consisted of potatoes and corn. The immigrants soon discovered, however, that the climate in the Colorado mountains was only suitable for growing crops for less than four months out of the year, and the first frost of winter killed most of what was still planted in the fields. This failed season of crops forced the immigrants to look for jobs elsewhere to help pay off their fast-growing debt to the local store. They soon found work with the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad which had decided to lay down more tracks to the west over Marshall Pass. The men of the colony were paid three dollars a day, which helped the struggling settlement get through its first winter. The colonists made it to spring, but the second crop was also a failure, and entire families soon started leaving. Only about six families remained in Cotopaxi to plant a third crop, which was wiped out by a large blizzard, and this officially ended the attempted farming colony in early June 1884.

REAL ESTATE: Fremont County is located in the South Central region of Colorado with affordable land to build your own home or cabin for winter and summer. Undeveloped land is still affordable compared to other resort and ski towns.  It’s not hard to vacant land with  beautiful views in this area and many have nice size parcels over an 5 acres and up.

RECREATION: This is a beautiful area surrounded by the mountains an pine trees and is a lightly populated mountain range in South Central region of Colorado in the western United States. The outdoor activities are long and include hunting, fishing, mountain biking, hiking, there’s also off roading, fishing, rafting, kayaking and in the winter month there’s plenty of  local ski resorts for downhill skiing and snowboarding, cross country skiing, and snowmobiling.

Cotopaxi Colorado provides an endless number of fishing opportunities for the experienced and beginning angler. Beautiful rivers and streams, high elevation lakes, reservoirs offer just about every setting one could ask for to relax and fish, or just enjoy the magnificent scenery.

DINING: The choices for dining are Barrys Den @ Texas Creek to Amicas Pizza Microbrew & More in Salida or even 216 Ferraro’s Italian restaurant you will not go hungry.

SHOPPING: Plenty of places for shopping from Town & Country Shopping mall to Walmart and boutiques you will find everything you need

MEDICAL: Pleasant Valley Health Center in Cotopaxi, there is also Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida was named a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the U.S. in 2018, according to The National Rural Health Association’s Rural Health Policy Institute, iVantage Health Analytics and The Chartis Center for Rural Health.

AIRPORT: Lowe Airstrip in Cotopaxi along with Tezak airport in Cotopaxi and for your larger airports there is Colorado Springs Airport in Colorado Springs and Denver International in Denver.

CLIMATE : Average range from winter low’s at 29 degrees and summer highs at 84 degrees characterized as moderately cold winters with medium to heavy snowfall and warm summers with yearly rainfall average of 16.8.