Fort Lyon, Colorado

For the former military post, see Fort Lyon.

Fort Lyon, Colorado
Unincorporated community
Fort Lyon (2013)
Fort Lyon Location within Bent County and Colorado Show map of Colorado Fort Lyon Fort Lyon (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 38°05′48″N 103°09′07″W[1]
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Bent
Elevation [1]	3,888 ft (1,185 m)
Time zone	UTC−7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
ZIP Code	81054[2]
Area code	719
GNIS ID	204828 [1]

Fort Lyon is an unincorporated community and U.S. Post Office in Bent County, Colorado, United States.[1]

History

A post office called Fort Lyon was established in 1862.[3] The Fort Lyon Post Office had the ZIP Code 81038, though the zip code for nearby Las Animas (81054) is also used.[2]

The community was named after Nathaniel Lyon, an officer in the American Civil War.[4]

The ghost town of Sheridan, in Logan County, Kansas, became a railhead for westbound freight to the Santa Fe Trail on a 120-mile (190 km) wagon road to the area.[5]

Some German prisoners of war were buried at Fort Lyon and built furniture and worked on local roads.[6]

Geography

Fort Lyon is located at 38°05′48″N 103°09′07″W (38.096741,-103.152008).

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Fort Lyon has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.[7]

Notable people

• Eugene Davis, a doctor who managed a Veterans Administration facility in Fort Lyon.[8]
• Farmer Ray, former Major League Baseball player, was born in Fort Lyon.
• Edward W. Wynkoop, a post commander at Fort Lyon.
• Samuel F. Tappan, military officer
• Enoch Steen, United States military officer who commanded at Fort Lyon.[9]
• Josephine Beatrice Bowman, Navy nurse stationed at Fort Lyon
• Walter McCaw, Army surgeon[10][11]
• William Nathaniel Thomas, Navy chaplain who served at the US Public Service Hospital.[12]
• Kit Carson, a frontiersman who died at the surgeon's quarters in Fort Lyon.[13]
• Laurice Aldridge Tatum, namesake of the USS Tatum, served at Fort Lyon's Naval Hospital.

References

1. "Fort Lyon, Colorado", Geographic Names Information System, United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior
2. "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. December 15, 2006. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on November 22, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2006.
3. "Post offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
4. Dawson, John Frank. 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. 22.
5. "Travel the Trail: Map Timeline 1866-1873". Santa Fe National Historic Trail. National Park Service. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
6. Lloyd, R. Scott, "Wreath-laying honors WWI German prisoners buried at Fort Douglas", Deseret News, November 14, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
7. Climate Summary for Fort Lyon, Colorado
8. Virginia - Google Books. January 5, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2012 – via Google Books.
9. Henry, Guy V., "Enoch Steen", Military Record of Army and Civilian Appointments in the United States Army (Volume II), D. Van Nostrand Publisher, New York, New York, 1873, p. 193.
10. Burdick, Alfred S., ed. (December 1922). "Brigadier General Walter D. McCaw". The American Journal of Clinical Medicine. New York, NY: A. S. Burdick. pp. 859–860 – via Google Books.
11. "Assistant Surgeon W. D. McCaw". Kansas City Times. Kansas City, MO. November 28, 1884. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Martin, P. 2.
13. Sides, 2006, pp. 482–483