Las Animas, CO

Las Animas is Bent County's county seat and only incorporated municipality, set on the Arkansas River just west of its confluence with the Purgatoire. U.S. 50 runs through town, with Pueblo 82 miles west and Lamar 36 miles east. The location sits on the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail: Fort Gantt was built nearby in 1832, and Bent's Old Fort and Boggsville sit within the surrounding historical landscape. Boggsville, two miles south on the Purgatoire, once served as a regional center for agriculture, government, commerce, and culture.

County business still has a physical address in the Bent County Courthouse, a National Register site whose construction began in 1887 and that has been used continuously since 1889. Around it, city routines include William F. Howland Park's pool, skate area, and picnic spaces, local restaurants and cafes, and the public nine-hole golf course. John Martin Reservoir State Park lies outside town for camping and water access, and Santa Fe Trail Day returns to the calendar each April. Las Animas is a river-and-road town where county work, historic routes, and recreation remain close together.