1867, John W. Prowers. Colorado 101, 1.75 miles southeast of Las Animas
John Prowers, the cattle king of southeastern Colorado, built a twenty-four-room, two-story adobe ranch house which also served as a stage stop, a hotel, and the first county courthouse. A third of the building—one wing—still stands and has been stabilized and restored. Prowers came to Colorado to join the Bents at Bent's Fort in 1857 and started his ranch in 1862. He introduced eastern pedigreed cattle to the area and built up the largest ranch in the Arkansas Valley, which stretched over much of Bent County and into what is now Prowers County, to the east.