Hotchkiss Colorado

Hotchkiss is a very small community in Delta County Colorado, in the North Fork Valley. It’s neighboring towns are Paonia to one side and Crawford to the other. Hotchkiss has less than one square mile to call its own, but within the town there’s a friendly and comfortable community of people. The community itself dates back to when the founder Enos Hotchkiss, a settler who arrived in the area homesteaded a property in the late 1870′s. From there, more families moved to the area between Hotchkiss and Crawford, and it was incorporated in 1901.  A very small bank and horse drawn buggies were part of the main street landscape by 1910. Being a farming community, Hotchkiss residents planted orchards in the rich soil of the Grand Mesa North Fork Valley and produced wonderful peaches and apples. By 1920, people knew Hotchkiss as the “Fruit Center of the Middle West”. Some of the architecture from the early days can still be seen lining the main street of Hotchkiss.

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Today, Colorado relies on The Hotchkiss National Fish Hatchery to provide trout for Colorado and New Mexico reservoirs. Tours can be taken in the Hatchery and visitors will learn how trout are raised, and transported to their new reservoir homes. Driving through Hotchkiss, the corn fields are green and beautiful against the strong blue backdrop of the West Elk mountain range and a large H is visible on the side of a local foothill. The residents are proud of Hotchkiss High School (home of the Hotchkiss “Bulldogs”) which sits prominently in the community, and boasts a high rating for academics and sports. Whether you are passing through, or visiting nearby, or coming to the Annual Delta County Fair at the County Fairgrounds, Hotchkiss welcomes you to stop by for a visit!

Hotchkiss Photo Gallery

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