Fort Lyon
Fort Lyon was composed of two 19th-century military fort complexes in southeastern Colorado. The initial fort, also called Fort Wise, operated from 1860 to 1867. After a flood in 1866, a new fort was built near Las Animas, Colorado, which operated as a military post until 1897.
Fort Lyon | |
One of the Fort's main buildings in 2013. | |
| Location | Bent County, Colorado |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Las Animas |
| Coordinates | 38°04′27″N 103°07′57″W |
| Built | The second Fort Lyon was built in 1867 |
| Architect | U.S. Army; et al. |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman |
| NRHP reference No. | 04000388 |
| CSRHP No. | 5BN.117 |
| Added to NRHP | 5 May 2004 |
It has been used as a United States Army fort, a sanatorium, a neuropsychiatry facility, and a minimum security prison. The state closed the prison in 2011, and in early 2013 proposed to use the site as a rehabilitation center for homeless people. Then in late 2013 it became a rehabilitative transitional housing facility for homeless people with some form of substance abuse problem. This is run by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and has been a developing program to the present day.
The fort is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Part of the site, the Fort Lyon National Cemetery, which began burials in 1907, remains open.