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Farisita, Colorado

Coordinates: 37°44′41″N 105°04′17″W / 37.74472°N 105.07139°W / 37.74472; -105.07139
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(Redirected from Fort Talpa)
Farisita, Colorado
Montoya Ranch in Farisita, December 2014
Montoya Ranch in Farisita, December 2014
Farisita is located in Colorado
Farisita
Farisita
Farisita is located in the United States
Farisita
Farisita
Coordinates: 37°44′41″N 105°04′17″W / 37.74472°N 105.07139°W / 37.74472; -105.07139
Country United States
State Colorado
CountiesHuerfano
Elevation6,651 ft (2,027 m)
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code
81040
Area code719
GNIS feature ID192689[1]

Farisita is an unincorporated community in Huerfano County, Colorado, United States.[2]

History

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Fort Talpa

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Fort Talpa, a Spanish adobe post, was built in the 1820s as a means of protection from possible attacks by Native Americans.[3] In the 1870s, the fort was included as part of the town of Huerfano Cañon. In 1941, it was still standing next to the newer town of Farisita's general store.[4] A post office called Farisita was established in 1923, and remained in operation until 1990.[4][5] An early postmaster named the town for his daughter, Jeanette "Farisita" Faris, the nickname being Spanish for little Faris girl.[6] Jeanette would later go on to run the post office and store herself. The Faris family cemetery is located at the town site, and has been in constant use since its creation, with Faris family members buried there as recently as 2010.[7] The town had a morada, or meeting house, for the religious group Los Hermanos Penitentes. It was located across the river and among the trees.[4]

Montoya Ranch

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The Montoya Ranch is located at Farisita and features the only adobe building in Colorado or New Mexico with a full adobe basement. It was originally built in 1869 by the Montoya family and was later occupied by the Lebanese Faris family who used the building as a store and post office.[8]

See also

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flag Colorado portal

References

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  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Farisita, Colorado
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Farisita, Colorado
  3. ^ Jolie Anderson Gallagher (April 2, 2013). Colorado Forts: Historic Outposts on the Wild Frontier. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. PT8. ISBN 978-1-61423-903-1.
  4. ^ a b c Best Books (1941). Colorado, a Guide to the Highest State. Best Books. p. 350. ISBN 978-1-62376-006-9.
  5. ^ "Post offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  6. ^ Dawson, John Frank (1954). Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 21.
  7. ^ http://www.chieftain.com/obituaries/faris-mary-alice/article_5478c0ee-123a-11e0-b7c9-001cc4c002e0.amp.html [dead link]
  8. ^ "Montoya Ranch". 31 October 2016.
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