La Jara traces its birth to the arrival of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in 1880. Located on part of the San Juan Extension between Alamosa and Silverton, the 1911 depot served as a shipping point for area ranchers and farmers. Gradually the automobile and truck replaced the railroad as the primary mode of transportation, and the railroad eventually closed the depot. In 1970, the town acquired the building and transformed it into the town hall.

Quoted from the History Colorado website.