Badito
Ghost town
Ruins in Badito, May 2007
Ruins in Badito, May 2007

Badito is a ghost town along the Huerfano River in Huerfano County, Colorado, United States.[1] It is located at the intersection of Colorado State Highway 69 and County Road 520. A post office named Little Orphan, Colorado opened on May 1, 1865, but the name was changed to Badito on September 12, 1865. Badito served as the Huerfano County seat from 1868 to 1874. The Badito post office closed on November 15, 1910.

History

Badito Cone, a prominent peak just north of Badito, May 2007
Some ruins in Badito, May 2007

The long-abandoned community, located at the crossing of the Huerfano River, marks a path used by the Ancestral Puebloans during the Basketmaker era.

A Spanish expedition led by General Juan de Ulibarrí is the first known recorded journey through Badito. He documented the journey through Cuchara Pass, west of the Spanish Peaks in 1706. Juan de Ulibarrí's command reached the Rio de San Juan Baptista (currently named the Huerfano River) at Badito.

In 1819, Jacob Fowler noted an abandoned Spanish adobe fort at the location.

Later, the Taos Trappers Trail, joining the Santa Fe Trail with the Cherokee Trail, passed through this location. In 1868, as part of the Territory of Colorado, Badito became the Huerfano County seat. In 1874, the county seat was moved to Walsenburg.

See also

References

Further reading

  • Whiteley, Lee. (1999). The Cherokee Trail: Bent's Old Fort to Fort Bridger. Boulder, Colorado: Johnson Printing. ISBN 0-9671351-1-7
  • Historic Marker #13. Posted by the Territorial Daughters of Colorado, Badito, Colorado.
  • Juan de Ulibarrí. Juan de Ulibarrí's Diary. Translated and posted by the Territorial Daughters of Colorado.

37°43′38″N 105°00′51″W / 37.7272°N 105.0142°W / 37.7272; -105.0142 (Badito)

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