CONEJOS COUNTY, CO HISTORY AND LOOKUP
County History Books
*None Listed
Conejos County, Colorado: A Genealogical Overview
As one of the original 17 territorial counties of Colorado and home to the state’s oldest communities and church, Conejos county possesses a unique and deep history rooted in Hispanic settlement from New Mexico. Its genealogical landscape is distinct from the gold rush counties, defined by the culture of the northern Rio Grande, agriculture, and the railroad.
I. County Formation and Evolution
Understanding Conejos county’s origin as one of Colorado’s first counties and its deep ties to New Mexico is fundamental for any family research in the San Luis Valley.
- 1861: County Formed: Conejos county was established on November 1, 1861, by the first Colorado Territorial Legislature.
- Parent County: It was created from existing New Mexico Territory land (primarily Taos County) and unorganized U.S. territory. Its boundaries were later adjusted, and it is the parent county of several other Colorado counties.
- Name Origin: The county is named for the Conejos River; “conejos” is the Spanish word for “rabbits,” which were abundant in the region.
- County Seat History: The original county seat was the town of Guadalupe. In 1863, the seat was moved to the town of Conejos, where it remains today.
II. Settlement and Early History
- Early Inhabitants: The San Luis Valley was the traditional territory and hunting ground for the Ute, Navajo (Diné), and Apache (Jicarilla) peoples.
- Hispanic Settlement: The defining feature of Conejos county’s history is its early and enduring Hispanic settlement. Beginning in the early 1850s, long before the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, families from northern New Mexico (especially the Taos and Santa Fe areas) migrated north to establish communities based on land grants. This makes Conejos county home to the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in Colorado.
- Economy and Religion: The economy was built on subsistence farming and livestock, particularly sheep ranching, supported by a sophisticated system of irrigation ditches (acequias). The Catholic Church was the center of community life, with Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Conejos being the oldest church in Colorado. The arrival of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in the 1870s connected the valley to the rest of the state and created the important railroad town of Antonito.
III. Genealogical Records and Resources
This section provides practical information for locating ancestral records specific to Conejos county.
- Courthouse and Government Center:
- Conejos County Clerk and Recorder: Located at 6683 County Road 13, Conejos, CO 81129. This office is the primary repository for land records and marriage licenses from the county’s formation.
- Conejos County Combined Court: Located at 6683 County Road 13, Conejos, CO 81129. This court holds probate, civil, and other court records.
- Vital Records:
- Birth and Death Records: The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in Denver holds birth records from 1910 and death records from 1900. Local public health offices can often provide more recent certificates.
- Marriage Records: Marriage records from 1861 to the present are held by the Conejos County Clerk and Recorder.
- Church Records: Due to the early settlement pre-dating civil registration, the sacramental records (baptisms, marriages, burials) of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and other historic Catholic churches are an essential genealogical source. Many are available through the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Diocese of Pueblo.
- Libraries with Genealogy Collections:
- Conejos County Library District: The main library in La Jara offers local history resources and access to genealogical databases.
- Regional Museums: The San Luis Valley Museum Association in Alamosa is a critical resource for the history of the entire region, including Conejos county.
- Bordering Jurisdictions:
- Alamosa county
- Archuleta county
- Rio Grande county
- Rio Arriba county, New Mexico
- Taos county, New Mexico