What is now Conejos County was settled by a group of Spanish settlers from the
Abiquiu, NM area who were looking for rich farm land and good grazing land for
their animals. They were pleased to find the valley full of green
pastures for their stock and flowing rivers to help with the irrigation of
their land. Many people settled in Ortiz and San Miguel, which is across
the river in New Mexico. Others built their homes in Conejos, San Rafael,
San Antonio and Lobatos. The people of Conejos County more closely
associate themselves with the beautiful culture of New Mexico, as this is the
region where their ancestors lived for well over two hundred years.
History of Antonito - Our Lady of Guadalupe
1833 Conejos Co. Land Grant
1895 Map of Conejos Co.
1899 Rail Road Map - thanks to Don Stanwyck
County Evolution
1911 City Directory |
Bibliographical References
History of Colorado
on line at CO State Library
The People of El Valle
by Olibama López Tushar
(El Escritorio, Pueblo, CO)
The San Luis Valley Historian
published by The San Luis Valley Historical Society
(SLV Historical Society, P.O. Box 982, Alamosa, CO 81101)
The San Luis Valley
by Virginia McConnell Simmons
(Pruett Publishing Company, Boulder, CO)
Conejos County, A Quick History
by Leiland Feitz,
(Little London Press, 29 East Bijou, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 )
Conejos County
by Frances Harvey Mead
(Century One Press, 2325 East Platte Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80909)
The Mormons: 100 Years in the San Luis Valley of Colorado 1883-1983
compiled and edited by Carlton Q. Anderson, Betty Shawcroft, and Robert
Compton, published by the LaJara Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
See Lookups
Mormon Colonization of the San Luis Valley, Colorado 1878-1900
Judson Harold Flower, Jr. (it was his master's thesis from BYU. published
in 1966 by him.
See Lookups
If you have historical inforamtion, references or pictures that you would like added here, please contact Connie Perkins
