History

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The name Falfa comes from the locally grown crop, alfalfa. Falfa was a Denver & Rio Grande railroad station established in the early 1900’s.  It was located about 9 miles southeast of Durango along a railroad branch running from Durango to Ignacio.  In 1899, the Ute territorial lands opened up to settlers, and a small farming community called Griffith (named after a prominent landowner in the area), was established.  Landowners Hattie and James Laughren opened a general store in Griffith, and in 1909 Hattie became the first postmistress. The Griffith post office name changed to Falfa in 1924, and it remained in operation until 1954.  The Falfa Station was a gathering place for the community, and the local children used to ride the train to school especially in the snowy winter months.  The farmers would send their livestock, produce and filled milk cans by train to Durango, and the milk cans would be returned empty each day.  The original Falfa store and post office burned in 1930 and were rebuilt, but burned again in the 1940’s.  Traces of the railroad grade remain, and you can still find Falfa on a Colorado map.

 

The above information is from speaking with the local community and from, Pioneers, Prospectors and Trout, A Historic Context for La Plata County, Colorado, by Jill Seyfarth and Ruth Lambert PHD, January 2010. 

 

The photo below was taken in 1962 near Falfa, CO, very close to today's pumpkin patch.