Fort Lyon Makes List of Colorado Endangered Places

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A former correctional facility in southeastern Colorado is among five historic sites chosen as the state’s Most Endangered Places this year. KRCC’s Eliza Densmore reports.

Fort Lyon in Las Animas has served as a military fort and a tuberculosis treatment facility. Most recently, it was a prison closed to help cut state budget costs. Colorado Preservation, Inc. has now designated the fort as an Endangered Place. The non-profit works to educate residents and promote historic preservation. State and local officials, including Governor John Hickenlooper, have pushed for the site to become a voluntary treatment center for the chronically homeless. Other sites with this year’s designation include Hotchkiss Barn and Homesteading Sites in Escalante Canyon.