Prowers County
General Overview
Prowers County is located on the
Colorado-Kansas border at the crossroads of Highways 50,
287, the Ports to Plains trade courier route and 385. It
is home to the towns of Bristol, Granada, Hartman,
Holly, Lamar and Wiley. Founded in 1889, it was names
after John Wesley Prowers, a leading pioneer, plainsman,
cattleman and legislator of the lower Arkansas Valley.
The area is rich with recreational activities,
historical sites and western traditions as well as
birding trails, excellent schools and renewable energy
sources. Rich in agricultural production, it is the
industrial and retail center of Southeast Colorado and
has great opportunities for business expansion and
relocation. The local amenities, museums, art galleries,
annual festivals and cultural events help to round out
the balance and attraction of the area as a great place
to visit but a better place to live.
The Colorado Welcome Center, as well as
the Chamber of Commerce, is housed in a
beautifully-restored 1907 rail depot which is still in
use with daily Amtrak service between Chicago and Los
Angeles. While at the center, visitors can see the Madonna of the Trail Monument, one of 12 in the nation
commissioned by the Nation
 Society of the Daughters of
the American Revolution to honor the pioneer mothers who
came west with great strength and faith. The Lamar
Monument was dedicated on Sept. 24, 1928.
In 1821, the Santa Fe Trail trade route
that connected Franklin, Missouri, and Santa Fe, New
Mexico, was first used by William Becknell when he
organized a trading party and hauled goods to Santa Fe
to trade and sell. Later it was used as an international
commercial highway, a military route and, finally, a
route to help open the region to economic development
and settlement. Today, the highway route that roughly
follows the Santa Fe Trail’s path through Colorado is
called the Santa Fe Trail Scenic Byway. Along the
188-mile byway, travelers can view monuments, actual
wagon ruts, rubble from homesteads and historic sites.
In 1935, Franklin D. Roosevelt created
the WPA, a massive employment relief program created to
provide jobs and income to the unemployed during the
Great Depression. The philosophy was to put the
unemployed back to work in jobs which would serve the
public and save the skills and self esteem of the
workers. All across Prowers County, as well as Southeast
Colorado, these hand-built projects are visible and in
use even today. Old Holly City Hall, a 1938 WPA project,
houses the Holly Historical Society Museum filled with
historical artifacts and treasures. It is located south
of Highway 50 and east of Main Street in Holly.
Photo by Lex Nichols |
Demographics
Prowers County covers approximately
1,600 square miles, averaging 8.8 persons per square
mile. It is a diverse community with a Hispanic
population of 38%. 24% of Prowers County citizens speak
a language other than English, 72% are high school
graduates and 11.9% have obtained a bachelor ‘s degree
or higher.
Economy
Prowers County has been a farming and
agriculture community since its origin, offering many
farming support businesses such as equipment and machine
supply and mills. In fact, in 2009, Colorado Mills
was names one of 50 “Colorado Companies to Watch.” Other
major industries in Prowers County include services,
retail trade and government agencies. On average, the
per capita income is $14,150 compared to the state
average of $24,049. Prowers County’s labor force is
6,860 with an employment rate of 96.3%.
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The Pierre Auger Project is a
collaboration of 17 counties and more than 350
scientists coming together to study one of the greatest
mysteries in science today, ultra-high energy cosmic
rays, the universe’s highest energy particles. The Auger
Observatory is located at two sites. The northern
hemisphere site will be located in a region of 4,000
square miles in the counties of Baca, Bent, Kiowa and
Prowers. With access to both sites, scientist will be
able to “view” the entire universe and to study the
entire sky. Lamar Community College in Lamar was chosen
as the Education and Outreach Host Institute for the
observatory. It will host the future administration and
scientific headquarters facility on its campus as well
as a permanent visitor center. Once demonstration tank
is located on the LCC campus and a second tank at the
Bent County fairgrounds in Las Animas, with future
demonstration tanks to be placed in other locations
within the region, encouraging visitors to stop and
examine the tanks. By securing this observatory,
Southeast Colorado will be home to a world-class
attraction and cutting-edge research project.
Wind power is becoming the fastest
growing renewable energy source in Prowers County, which
is home to the Colorado Green Wind Power Project. It was
built to help meet Colorado’s demand for clean,
renewable energy. The Colorado Green Wind Power Project,
located 23 miles south of Lamar, is the largest in the
world. 108 wind turbines, the largest assembled in
America, stand 328 feet tall across 11,000 acres of
prairies. Only 2% of the 11,000 acres of land area is
actually used for the wind farm and the rest is able to
be used for other purposed such as ranching and grazing.
Wind energy is plentiful, renewable, and clean. The
project generates local income, boosts the local tax
base, attracts tourists and uses the clean power of the
wind to deliver electricity to Colorado consumers. In
addition to this project, Prowers County also has 5
other wind turbines generating power for Lamar Light and
Power.
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Education
Photo by Lex Nichols |
Prowers County’s six communities have
four school districts. The county is also home to Lamar
Community College, which is dedicated to the educational
needs of southeastern Colorado, including Prowers, Baca,
Kiowa, and Cheyenne counties. As a comprehensive
community college, it offers programs that helps
students 16 years of age or older to imagine themselves
with new skills, a college degree or a fresh
perspective. It offers unique programs, small class
sizes, dedicated staff and personalized attention.
Students choose Lamar Community College for various
reasons. LCC assists individuals at their point of need,
often with ESL, GED, and developmental courses. From
there, some seek skills and knowledge to enter the
workforce. Others wish to hone their talents and prepare
for transfer to a four-year university. Still others
come to study in one of our signature programs, to seek
a bachelor's degree through one of our partnerships with
several four-year colleges and universities, or to
continue their athletic careers against top-level
competition. Many community members choose to enroll in
LCC’s Fitness Center or physical education courses to
start or continue a healthy way of life. LCC is growing
to serve its students and communities, adding new
programs and certificate/degree options each year. See
www.lamarcc.edu to
learn what’s new at LCC.
Health Services
Prowers County offers several health
care options such as Prowers Medical Center, High Plains
Community Health Clinic (Medical, Dental, Veterans
Assistance), Prowers County Public Health, and Fresenius
Medical Care (Dialysis Services). There are two nursing
care centers located in Prowers County and one assisted
living facility. Many specialists provide services to
the community on a rotating schedule.
Recreation
Located one mile north of Lamar on US
Highway 50 is the Big Timbers Museum, which houses a
vast collection of war memorabilia, war posters, pioneer
treasures and antique fashions. One of the favorite
collections is the 1928 Fleagle Bank Robbery display,
which includes photographs, documents and artifacts from
the robbery, the search for the gang and their trial and
conviction in Prowers County. This case was the first
case where the FBI used fingerprints to obtain a
criminal conviction as well as the first case where an
airplane was used during the investigation of a crime in
Colorado.
Amache National Historic Landmark, also
known as Camp Amache, is located 1.5 miles west of
Granada on US Highway 50. The camp was named after
Amache Ochine, a Cheyenne Indian Chief’s daughter who
was married to John W. Prowers, an early pioneer and
cattleman for whom Prowers County is named. Camp Amache
was the smallest of 10 Japanese-American internment
camps create in 1942 by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Over the
course of three years, the population peaked at 7,566
men, women and children. Although little remains of Camp
Amache, visitors can see the site, including signs
posted near concrete foundations to show the locations
of buildings such as the school, the post office and the
silk screen shop. You can visit the small cemetery
tucked into a corner and the memorial that is dedicated
to the 31 Japanese-Americans from Camp Amache that
volunteered, fought and were killed in action during
WWII.
 Birding is becoming one of the
fastest-growing outdoor activities in North America. In
Prowers County, with our fresh air, abundance of natural
habitat, diversity of scenery, solitude and amazing
skies, we are fortunate to be home to 5 of the 14 trails
making up the Colorado Birding Trail. The trail connects
outdoor recreation sites where visitors can view birds,
plant life and wildlife, as well as experience the local
historical and archeological sites. The section of the
trail located in Prowers County is a portion of the Two
Buttes Trail. Although best known for migratory birds
such as the snow goose and sand hill crane, many other
species of wildlife, birds, mammals and reptiles are
here to be observed, photographed and enjoyed.
Every February, the High Plains Snow
Goose and Birding Festival co-hosted by the Colorado
Division of Wildlife, Lamar Chamber of Commerce, Lamar
Community College, Kiowa County and Southeast Colorado
Regional Heritage Taskforce offers tours, lectures,
field trips, films, demonstrations and more. During the
weekend festival you will have the opportunity to learn
about hunting, photography, birding and history as well
as browsing the local artisan’s booths and exploring
Southeast Colorado.
Southeast Colorado is a mecca for
hunting and fishing opportunities. Hunting is available
for mule deer, white tail deer, antelope, Canadian
geese, snow geese, ducks, pheasants, quail, dove and
wild turkeys. Fishing is wide open for walleye,
bullheads, wipers, trout, channel catfish, drum, large
and small mouth bass, bluegill, crappie, and tiger
muskie. West of Prowers County, John Martin Reservoir is
excellent for skiing, wind surfing, jet skiing, camping
and swimming. To the north you can experience the Great
Plains Reservoirs and all they have to offer. The
Arkansas River that flows through Prowers County also
offers fishing and hunting at its best.
Nonprofit Organizations
- All the Right Moves Dance Studio
- Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks #1319
- Beta Sigma Phi
- Big Timbers Historical Society
- Lamar Parks and Recreation
- Boy Scouts
- Girl Scouts
- Delta Kappa Gamma
- Denim and Lace Square Dancing
- Duvalls Academy of Sports
- Lamar Chamber of Commerce
- Lamar Dudes and Dames Square Dancing
- Lamar Lodge #90 AF & AM Masonic Temple
- Lamar Noon Lions
- Lamar/Prowers County Volunteer Fire Department
- Lamar Rotary Club
- Lamarlins Swim Team
- Phi Theta Kapa
- Red Hat Society
- Sorosis
- SE Colorado Shine Club of Al Kala Temple
- Southeast Mental Health Services
- Vaqueros Saddle Club
- Veterans of Foreign Wars
- Zonta International
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