A small Colorado town plagued by fraud allegations and violent altercations was deemed abandoned after all elected officials resigned from their posts and the local water became a health hazard to the citizens.
The former statutory town of Hartman, CO, with a population of 30 and little more than a town hall and a post office, was declared abandoned by Secretary of State Jena Griswold on Wednesday.
“Yesterday, the Colorado Department of State issued a formal determination that the Town of Hartman has been abandoned pursuant to 31-3-201 C.R.S.,” Griswold’s office announced.
The town had been without any form of government since January 14 when the three remaining board trustees resigned, a day after a violent brawl broke out between four older woman following a tense board meeting, the Denver Post reported.
The state’s declaration came two weeks after a Hartman resident applied for the abandonment because there were no elected officials to govern and run the town, including providing a proper water supply for the remaining citizens.
“The Town of Hartman had lacked chlorine in its water for over one month and the water was not potable and ‘smells horrible,’ the application stated on June 17.
Residents of Hartman, located on the southeast side of Colorado near the Kansas border, had been subject to a water boil order since at least February.
“The application alleges that the town does not have a board of trustees or town clerk, is unable to hold an election, and owns and operates water infrastructure needed to treat and deliver water to residents,” the application stated.
Hartman had been provided with over $1 million in grants to work on the water system, but the town was unable to secure any contracts to enable the grants since there was no government.
A hearing led by Colorado’s Deputy Secretary of State Andrew Kline was held on July 13, where residents voiced evidence and testimony both for and against the abandonment application.
On July 28, Kline published a 15-page order determining that abandonment was the best option for the residents of Hartman.
“Importantly, not determining that the Town of Hartman is abandoned as contemplated by § 31-3-201(1 (b), C.R.S. (2026), would leave the residents in further legal limbo during a health hazard, with no authority to conduct business, hold elections, or fix their water infrastructure so that clean water can be delivered to the town residents,” Kline wrote. “Abandonment is the only legal mechanism in Colorado statute that creates an avenue for residents of the area to receive clean water.”
Prowers County Board of County Commissioners will take control of all public roads and alleys in the former town.
The county will also take ownership of the existing water infrastructure critical for the treatment or delivery of water and will transfer responsibility “to an entity whose primary purpose is water treatment or delivery.”
The bitter demise of the town had been long coming due to years of embezzlement allegations, lawsuits, restraining orders and a previous failed vote to dissolve the town, according to the Denver Post.
Despite a possible favorable outcome, three residents objected to the declaration proposal, declaring that there were technicalities, including recalls taking place before resignations were filed and the board of trustees having resigned just days before the 2026 municipal elections were set to take place.
“I understand and sympathize with the concerns presented by the Town of Hartman’s citizens, and I commend all parties for their willingness to engage with the democratic process and to try to solve the problem facing their town,” Kline wrote.