Churches

* Information received from Mercie Marquez Ulibarri [mamabarri@obii.net]:
“The church in Arboles, Archuleta County, is San Pedro, Santa Rosa. It was given both names because there were two churches in that area. One in Arboles and one in Rosa. When the families of Rosa were displaced due to the Navajo Dam Project they worshiped at San Pedro (an old schoolhouse). The new church was built in Arboles in 1978 and given both names. ”

Baca County was established 1889, named for the Baca family of Trinidad. A member of this family had been the first settler on Two Buttes Creek. The county seat is Springfield. Mailing address: County Clerk and Recorder, 741 Main St., Springfield, CO 81073-1548. Telephone (719) 523-4372.

Bent County, established in 1870, takes its name from Bent's Fort which was located on the north bank of the Arkansas River, near present day La Junta, and from the Bent brothers who founded the fort in 1828-1832.

The county seat is Las Animas. Mailing address: County Clerk and Recorder, P.O. Box 350, Las Animas, CO 81054-0350. Telephone: (719) 456-2009.

Conejos County was created in 1861 as an original county under the name of Guadalupe. The name was changed to Conejos in 1869, taking its name from the Spanish word for rabbit. The early Spaniards of New Mexico gave that name to the river which flowed through the area.

The county seat is in Conejos. Mailing address: County Clerk and Recorder, P.O. Box 127, Conejos, CO 81129-0127. Telephone: (719) 376-5422.

Notes from Patricia Sanchez Rau [leadville5@earthlink.net]: Our Lady of Guadalupe church, founded in 1856 in Conejos, is the oldest church in Colorado. The first settlers into the area were from New Mexico, primarily from Abiquiu, San Juan de los Caballeros, and Santa Cruz. “As more and more people arrived, mission churches were set up and all had the records housed with Our Lady of Guadalupe. When the town of Antonito was built, the Theatine Priests from Spain came into the area and built St. Augustine church in 1880.”

“Even the church records from Our Lady of Guadalupe are now housed at the church offices of Saint Agustine in Antonito. ” Conejos is only about a mile north of Antonito.

“The Presbyterians came into Conejos County in 1880, establishing churches in Antonito, Alamosa, Cenicero, Del Norte, Mogote, San Rafael, and Monte Vista. They also established schools in the area and had a large number of Hispanic converts.” [Patricia Sanchez Rau]

Per Olibama Lopez-Tushar, a jakal went up in 1854 in Guadalupe (Conejos?), which was the beginning of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish. The People of El Valle, Pueblo, CO: El Escritorio Publishing Company, 1997, p. 56.

Note from Julie Candelaria, January 2005: "I found that the 1860 census had many families of Conejos in Taos County, New Mexico Territory. So exciting to find this, like striking a gold mine in genealogy!"

Costilla County was established in 1861 and was named for the Costilla River. Costilla is the Spanish word for "rib" and furring timber" and the river had been named by the Spaniards prior to 1800. The county seat is in San Luis. Mailing address: County Clerk and Recorder, P.O. Box 308, San Luis, CO 81152-0308. Telephone: (719) 672-3301.

"This church served the communities of Las Plaza de los Manzanares, Los Fuertes, San Pedro, San Acasio, Culebra and Garcias. San Luis was settled primarily by people from Taos." [Patricia Sanchez Rau]

St. Mary
(formerly Our Lady of Sorrows)
(719) 738-1204

Mixed records 1912-1957: FHL 0002722
Baptisms, marriages, deaths. Some indexes.

Huerfano County was established in 1861, and named for the Huerfano River which flows through the area. Huerfano is the Spanish word for "orphan," the name given to Huerfano Butte, which is an isolated, cone-shaped butte located in the river bottom area.

The county seat is in Walsenburg. Mailing address: County Clerk and Recorder, 401 Main St., Suite 204, Walsenburg, CO 81089. Telephone (719) 738-2380.