Terra Firma Forestry

About forestry service, 81242, Poncha Springs, CO, US, Colorado

Poncha Springs is a statutory town in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 925 at the 2020 census and increased to 1406 as of 2024. == History == The Ute people used the Poncha Springs area as camping grounds during the winter months on the eve of European settlement of the region. Juan Bautista de Anza led a military expedition over Poncha Pass in 1779, which is about 6 miles (10 km) south of the present-day town. Following the Spanish exploration, French trappers and fur traders moved in. In 1855, Colonel Thomas T. Fauntleroy and the 1st Cavalry Regiment marched over Poncha Pass and engaged a group of Utes between present day Salida and Poncha Springs, during the Ute Wars. Around 1860, prospectors began arriving, including Bob Hendricks and Nat Rich, who built the first cabin in town, which is still standing. Nat Rich's son, James, was the first white person born in Poncha Springs in 1867. That same year Poncha Springs was designated as an election precinct. Indian agent John Burnett homesteaded with his wife, Minerva Maxwell Burnett, who was an early schoolteacher in Poncha Springs.