The Full Story
About Aguilar Colorado
Caring, Compassionate Community as Far as the Eye Can See
The Town of Aguilar, Colorado was founded in 1894 by cattleman and prominent pioneer José Ramón Aguilar. Nestled at the foot of the Twin Spanish Peaks, it was first settled by Spaniards who called it "The New Spain." As one of Colorado's oldest towns, José Ramón Aguilar owned the land on which the town still stands and in 1888 the town was named in his honor. With the coming of the Aguilar branch of the Colorado & Southern Railroad and the opening of the Peerless Coalmine, numerous coalmine company towns developed. Hundreds of Slavs, Poles, Greeks and Italians came from Europe and became the local coal miners. Aguilar became a melting pot of nationalities with three newspapers, a bank, schools, churches, stores, theaters, saloons, and hotels serving 2,500 residents and coal camps by 1923. (for more information visit coloradopreservation.org)
In the 1920s, prohibition came to the United States, and with it a rise of gangsters. One of the most notorious was Al Capone, also known as Scarface by the Feds and some brave journalists. He discovered southern Colorado and at first began to send his hitmen to the area to cool off when they were being hunted by the law in Chicago. Later, he visited and was rumored to have purchased a home in Aguilar using a false name, serving as a safe-house if needed. There is a local rumor that a tunnel was constructed for Capone by out of work coal miners that ran from the basement of the old drug store on Mainstreet in Aguilar, 16 miles north to the southside of Walsenburg. This was not only Capone's way of traveling without being detected, but was also a means of transporting moonshine from one community to another. It has been said that the tunnel was large enough to allow Capone's gangsters to use a model T pickup to transport booze and people between the two towns. It was also rumored that another tunnel was constructed between Aguilar and Trinidad that would allow the gangsters to move over 30 miles without detection. (For more information visit tidbitsofsoutherncolorado.com)
We are a tight-knit community situated in an area of magnificent natural beauty. Our community enjoys a dry climate. With warm sunny days and cool nights, the climate makes Aguilar a wonderful place to live. We are extremely proud of all we are working to achieve, and continue to develop and improve for the benefit of future generations. Our local government and community members are working together to create the best conditions and quality of life; from education and recreation to business and tourism. We welcome one and all to join us, whether to live or just pay a visit.
