Como, Colorado

Como, Colorado
Unincorporated community
Como Roundhouse is the only narrow-gauge roundhouse still standing in Colorado. Until 1937, it handled repairs on the railroads. In 1938, the remaining tracks were removed.
Country	United States
State	State of Colorado
County	Park County
Elevation	9,813 ft (2,991 m)
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP Code	80432

Railway depot in Como, c. 1900

Como is an unincorporated community in Park County in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population is 439.

2016 Events in Como

May 28th: Bingo Memorial Day Edition at the Como Civic Center (Historic schoolhouse up on the hill) Dinner $5 at 6:00pm, Bingo $10 starts at 7:00pm. All proceeds go the Como Civic Association which helps maintain the 2 historic schoolhouses.

June 18th: Bingo at the Como Civic Center (Historic schoolhouse up on the hill) Dinner $5 at 6:00pm, Bingo $10 starts at 7:00pm. All proceeds go the Como Civic Association which helps maintain the 2 historic schoolhouses.

June 26th: Como Reunion Potluck Noon at the Como Civic Center (Historic schoolhouse up on the hill) This event is open to all past & present residents of Como, people who love Como and its history. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet longtime Como residents, hear stories of Como residents & their families that built Como, South Park historic events, DSP&P train history, cemetery residents.

July 16th: Bingo at the Como Civic Center (Historic schoolhouse up on the hill) Dinner $5 at 6:00pm, Bingo $10 starts at 7:00pm. All proceeds go the Como Civic Association which helps maintain the 2 historic schoolhouses.

Aug 13-20: Como Mountain Man Rendezvous at JBGardneRanch. www.comorendezvous.com This rendezvous is a pre-1840’s fur trade rendezvous re-enactment. It strives for all aspects of this event to be true to that era in the Rocky Mountains. This event is held about 6 miles south of the town of Como, Colorado. South Park is approximately 950 square miles of rolling hills and meadows at approximately 10,000 feet altitude. This region was a favorite trapping and wintering spot during the fur trade era.

Aug 20th: Bingo at the Como Civic Center (Historic schoolhouse up on the hill) Dinner $5 at 6:00pm, Bingo $10 starts at 7:00pm. All proceeds go the Como Civic Association which helps maintain the 2 historic schoolhouses.

Aug 20th: Boreas Pass Railroad Days. Since 1995, the annual Boreas Pass Railroad Day celebration has revived the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad in the Como community. Sponsored by the South Park Ranger District, visitors are invited to tour the many historic sites that lined the railroad line from Como and over Boreas Pass to Breckenridge. In Como, the rare opportunities to tour the roundhouse, ride a narrow gauge handcar at the restored Depot, See the 2 original schoolhouses which are combined with craft demonstrations, vendors, and exhibits. Walk through several historic homes in Como. Visitors drive up to Boreas Pass, Tour Roberts Cabin, Swartz Cabin, then stop for refreshments at the Section House on the summit of scenic Boreas Pass. 9:00am to 4:00pm. A great opportunity to spend a day in the genuine old west and step back in time to when the railroad ruled and mining was the name of the game. Fun for all ages, a great day for those who want a chance to explore the history & lore of a railroad town and an excellent opportunity if you enjoy period dress and want to show off your Victorian, Pioneer, Railroad, Western, Mountain Man costumes.

Sept 17th: Bingo at the Como Civic Center (Historic schoolhouse up on the hill) Dinner $5 at 6:00pm, Bingo $10 starts at 7:00pm. All proceeds go the Como Civic Association which helps maintain the 2 historic schoolhouses.

Oct 15th: Bingo at the Como Civic Center (Historic schoolhouse up on the hill) Dinner $5 at 6:00pm, Bingo $10 starts at 7:00pm. All proceeds go the Como Civic Association which helps maintain the 2 historic schoolhouses.

For more info visit Facebook: Como Civic Association

History

It is believed the town was named by miners from Como, Italy, who worked the coal fields of the area. In 1879, the town became the location of a depot of the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, which was extended over Kenosha Pass to reach the silver mining areas during the Colorado Silver Boom. Later, the town served as a division point for trains going northward over Boreas Pass and southward toward Garos and over Trout Creek Pass at the western end of South Park. The town has many historic weathered structures, including the roundhouse, hotel, and depot and has the air of a ghost town that is still nevertheless populated, by twenty people. It has a small commercial district consisting of a post office, gallery, hotel. The depot has been renovated with plans to make it an area tourist attraction.

With a population in the 1910 census of 475, 36 more than in 2010, Como was then the largest community in Park County. There were eighty-three children of school age that year. The former Como High School had begun in an abandoned Presbyterian Church, which was moved to another site. The school closed in either 1940 or 1941, by which time railroad service to Como had already ended some three years earlier. The remaining pupils were bused to Fairplay. The old Como High School building was left intact and used for the storage of decades of school records and memorabilia, items which were rediscovered in the 1990s. The former school, with a well-preserved classroom, is open to the public only once annually, on Boreas Pass Railroad Day, but students may visit on field trips. The school provides a glimpse into yesteryear.

Como Photos

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This Como band from about 1900 and others like it entertained at Fourth of July parades and other events in Como’s early years. (Photo courtesy Park County Local History Archives, source: Robert Craig)

Geography

Como is located at 39°18′57″N 105°53′32″W (39.315707,-105.892239). Como is located at the northern end of South Park, Como is an historic railroad settlement. It sits approximately one-half mile (1 km) west of U.S. Route 285 and some nine miles (15 km) northeast of the county seat of Fairplay. Como is accessible by a paved County Road 33, which becomes gravel inside the town. Boreas Pass Road runs northwest over Boreas Pass to Breckenridge. The mountains northwest of Como form a dramatic background to the site of the town on the flank of Little Baldy Mountain.

Economy

The U.S. Post Office in Como (ZIP Code 80432) is located within Mountain Man Gallery, an art gallery which displays the work of mainly local artists. Other businesses in the community are the Como Depot and Eating House, a bed and breakfast open seasonally, and Experienced Goods Antique which sells miscellaneous matters, including books.

Notable people

On May 13, 2011, Marshal Adolph E. Cook of Como was inducted into the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C. Earlier in 1999, he was inducted into the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial. He is the only law enforcement officer from Park County to qualify for in his case posthumous honors. Cook was shot to death in 1894 when he came to a Como residence to break up a loud party. Two women at the party, including Anna Blythe Speas, were charged with accessory to murder but acquitted. Speas' tragic life story is told in the book Historic Tales from Park County: Parked in the Past by the journalist Laura King Van Dusen, who writes for the newspaper The Flume in Fairplay.

See also

• Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area
• Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area
• Front Range Urban Corridor
• List of cities and towns in Colorado