Fort Lyon
National Register of Historic Places

Fort Lyon

Las Animas, Bent County, Colorado
Listed
May 4, 2004
Type
District
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
04000388

About this property

Fort Lyon was composed of two 19th-century military fort complexes in southeastern Colorado. The initial fort, also called Fort Wise, operated from 1860 to 1867. After a flood in 1866, a new fort was built near Las Animas, Colorado, which operated as a military post until 1897. It has been used as a United States Army fort, a sanatorium, a neuropsychiatry facility, and a minimum security prison. The state closed the prison in 2011, and in early 2013 proposed to use the site as a rehabilitation center for homeless people. Then in late 2013 it became a rehabilitative transitional housing facility for homeless people with some form of substance abuse problem. This is run by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and has been a developing program to the present day. The fort is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Part of the site, the Fort Lyon National Cemetery, which began burials in 1907, remains open.

Location

Las Animas, Bent County, Colorado
38.07846, -103.13258

Categories

HEALTH/MEDICINEMILITARYNATIVE AMERICANBLACKEUROPEANARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
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Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
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Literature
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Spotlight
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Points of Interest
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Timeline
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Nearby Historic Sites

Boggsville (Additional Documentation)
Listed
4.8 mi
Bent County Courthouse and Jail
Industrial
4.9 mi
Las Animas Post Office
Industrial
5 mi
Bent County High School
Industrial
5.5 mi
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
Modern
16.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Fort Lyon listed on the National Register?

Fort Lyon was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 4, 2004.

What type of historic resource is Fort Lyon?

Fort Lyon is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Fort Lyon?

The period of significance for Fort Lyon is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1860.

Can I research the history near Fort Lyon?

Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Fort Lyon will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.

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