The isolated cone-shaped butte east of this point and 10 miles north of Walsenburg was named El Huerfano, “The Orphan,” by early Spaniards, and the name appeared in Spanish records as early as 1818. The butte stood near the Trappers’ Trail from Taos and was passed by Fremont and Gunnison on their railroad surveys of 1853. The river and county also now bear the name. Altitude 6,150 feet.