Bent County was established in 1870 named in honor of frontier trader William Bent.
In 1889 Bent County was divided to create present day Otero, Kiowa, Prowers, as well as parts of Cheyenne and Lincoln County.
The 1889 divide made present day Bent County 36 miles from east to west and 43 miles from north to south. 888 Square miles with a total land area of 970,880 acres.
POPULATION
As of 2010, Bent County census the population of Bent County was 6,499.
MCCLAVE
McClave is an unincorporated town in Bent County.
Emergency Services include The Hasty/McClave volunteer Fire and Ambulance Service and the Bent County Sheriff's Office.
McClave was named after B. I. McClave, a pioneer settler.
LAS ANIMAS
Las Animas is the County Seat of Bent County.
A Statutory City and the only incorporated municipality in Bent County. The city population was 2,410 at the 2010 census.
The City of Las Animas Emergency Services consists of a volunteer Fire Department and an Ambulance Service. Law Enforcement Services are contacted to the Bent County Sheriff's Office.
According to legend, the town and the Purgatoire River were named for a group of conquistadors who died without the last rites sacrament of a priest. According to Catholic belief, their souls would go to Purgatory as a result. The original Spanish name for Las Animas ("The Souls," in Spanish) was purported to be La Ciudad de Las Animas Perdidos en Purgatorio, "The city of lost souls in Purgatory."
HASTY
Hasty is a unincorporated town in Bent County.
Emergency services include a volunteer Fire and Ambulance Service combined with McClave. Law Enforcement services for all of Unincorporated Bent County are the responsibility of the Sheriff.
The community was named after Lon Hasty, a pioneer settler.
LAND
Southern Bent county consists of bluffs, mesas and canyons opening to the rolling plains of the Arkansas River valley.
The Arkansas and Purgatoire rivers run from west to east in northern Bent County. The rivers intersect east of the City of Las Animas and flow into John Martin Reservoir. Northern Bent County is a series of rolling plains that slope south to the Arkansas River.
Bent County features a wide range of state and federal lands within its borders. The Bureau of Land Management, US Army Corp of Engineers and other Federal agencies manage land within the county. The State of Colorado manages lands at the State Wildlife Areas and at John Martin Reservoir State Park. The State also oversees the school “sections” scattered across all counties in Colorado, including Bent.
Private lands in Bent County are predominantly in uses related to agriculture. The county is a large producer of alfalfa, corn and winter wheat, and thousands of acres are under cultivation. Land used for agricultural purposes in Bent County consists of 676,505 acres of rangeland, 55,069 acres of non-irrigated cropland, and over 59,638 acres of irrigated cropland.
TRANSIT
U.S. Highway 50, the major transportation corridors, runs across Bent County from east to west. U.S. 50 runs generally along the old Santa Fe Trail route.
There are four state highways that support the US 50 corridor in Bent County: State Highway 101, State Highway 194, State Highway 183, and State Highway 196.
Highway 101 originates in Las Animas and runs in a north-south direction through the southern portion of Bent County.
Highway 194 runs east-west from the western county line into Las Animas, and Highway 196 is located just west of McClave and runs north-south from CR HH to CR WW. Highway 183 runs north-south between US 50 and Fort Lyon. Highway 183 is the shortest state highway in Colorado.
State highway 109 crosses the southwest corner of the county.
Bent County has 176.67 lane miles of State highway.
Rail
The Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad has two major rail lines in Bent County, one running east-west generally following the Arkansas River, and the other running south from Las Animas generally following Highway 101 alignment. Although Amtrak passenger service crosses Bent County, the Las Animas depot is currently closed. The closest active rail depot is in La Junta to the west.
