Town file
Walsenburg, Colorado
Walsenburg, Colorado (Huerfano County, Colorado) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 423, "The Killer Has Something In His Pants" (14 September 2023). Walsenburg, Colorado, is a former coal mining town in Huerfano County, south of Pueblo, with a population of about 3,000.
- Town
- Walsenburg
- County
- Huerfano County
- State
- Colorado
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 423
- Approximate location
- 37.631, -104.782
Episode 423 / 14 September 2023 / 164 min / full
The Killer Has Something In His Pants
"We're going to Walzenburg, Colorado... southern Colorado, kind of south central Colorado." about 0:05:16
The case: Murder of Pamela Candelario (January 15, 2014); Disappearance of Dina Candelario (August 2004). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 3,034
- Median age
- forty six and a half
- Median household income
- $33,372 a year
- Median home value
- $183,600
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,030
- Cost of living
- 73
- Religious
- 65%
- Property crime
- ▲ almost double the national average
- Violent crime
- ▲ about 25% above the national average
History, in brief
- The first post office opened around 1870, which is when Walsenburg became an official town. about 0:06:25
- The town was named after Fred Walsen, an early settler. about 0:06:30
- Gunman Robert Ford had a saloon and gambling house in Walsenburg at West Seventh Street, and his home still stands. about 0:06:47
- The Colorado Coalfield War was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America against the Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel and Iron in 1913 and 1914; Walsenburg was a Colorado and Southern railway stop and the site of several gun battles. about 0:07:11
- The Ludlow Massacre of 1914 killed over a dozen women and children when the Colorado National Guard opened fire on a striker encampment at Ludlow, twenty two miles away. about 0:07:30
- The Battle of Walsenburg took place on April 28th and 29th, 1940, the penultimate engagement of the National Guard and militia against pro-strikers during a ten-day war. about 0:08:26
- Walsenburg is mentioned in Woody Guthrie's song Ludlow Massacre. about 0:08:54
- In 1927 and 1928 there was another coal strike, and the Walsenburg coal mines were among those shut down statewide. about 0:09:18
- In June 2013 Boy Scouts at Spanish Peaks Scout Ranch found an uncontrolled fire near East Spanish Peak; it became the East Peak fire, burned over 13,000 acres and put Walsenburg under a pre-evacuation notice. about 0:09:29
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A small town with very helpful people living in it; it is very quiet, the community is good and you will feel safe."about 0:10:30
4 stars
"A beautiful area, just expensive to live here."about 0:11:32
3 stars
"The only honest and reliable auto repair shop is Daniel's Towing and Auto Repair."about 0:11:52
3 stars
"The only restaurant worth eating at is George's Drive-In: great food, good prices and outstanding service."about 0:12:29
2 stars
"Trying to get someone to help around here is like pulling teeth unless you know or are related to someone."about 0:13:02
1 star
"If you are well-read and well-travelled, Walsenburg is not the place for you: no jobs, no decent restaurants, corrupt city government and people only stay to help ageing parents."about 0:14:12
1 star
"Everyone talks about wanting to get out, but few can make enough to actually leave."about 0:15:03
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Trinidad, Colorado35 miles
- Kiowa, Colorado120 miles
- Chimayo, New Mexico130 miles
- Gunnison, Colorado133 miles
- Breckenridge, Colorado146 miles
- Byers, Colorado147 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.