San Luis in Costilla County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Welcome to San Luis
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 12, 2025
1. Welcome to San Luis Marker
Est. Apr. 5, 1851
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is April 5, 1951.
Location. 37° 12.388′ N, 105° 25.513′ W. Marker is in San Luis, Colorado, in Costilla County. It is on Main Street (State Highway 159) just north of 9th Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 903 Main Street, San Luis CO 81152, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains and in the San Luis Valley. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also the Republic of Texas.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Colorado's Earliest Settlements (approx. 0.2 miles away); La Sierra (approx. 0.3 miles away); Faith on the Frontier (approx. 0.3 miles away); Oldest Town in Colorado (approx. 0.3 miles away); Welcome to El Valle de San Luis (approx. 0.3 miles away); Hispano Folkways (approx. 0.4 miles away); San Luis (approx. 0.4 miles away); Acequias (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Luis.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Also see . . .
1. San Luis, Colorado (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: The Town of San Luis is centuries younger than the pueblos and villages of northern New Mexico because Hispanic settlers were(Submitted on August 15, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)wary of venturing north of the 37th parallel north for fear of Ute and Comanche raids. Armed traders traveled the Old Spanish Trail through the area in the early 19th century. San Luis was in the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant awarded by the government of New Mexico to the Carlos Beaubien family in 1843. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo annexed northern Mexico to the United States in 1848, and the Compromise of 1850 created the U.S. Territory of New Mexico.
Click or scan to see
this page onlineHispanic settlers from the Taos Valley established several small villages along the Rio Culebra in the San Luis Valley and officially took possession of this portion of the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant on April 9, 1851. The United States Army established Fort Massachusetts in 1852 and Fort Garland in 1858 to provide protection for the settlers in the valley. The village of San Luis remained part of the Territory of New Mexico until 1861 when the Territory of Colorado was established. Colorado became a state in 1876 and the Town of San Luis was incorporated in 1885.
2. San Luis (Colorado Encyclopedia).
Excerpt: The oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado, San Luis sits along Culebra Creek, just west of the Sangre(Submitted on August 15, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)de Cristo Mountains in the southeast portion of the San Luis Valley. In April 1851, Hispanos from Taos, New Mexico, founded San Luis on the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, which the Mexican government originally issued in 1843. Today the town has a population of around 700 and is the county seat of Costilla County. In addition to being the oldest town in present-day Colorado, San Luis maintains the states oldest continually held water right in the acequia a community irrigation ditchdeveloped by residents in the early 1850s.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 12, 20252. Welcome to San Luis MarkerLooking southwest from Main Street.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 15, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 14, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 101 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 15, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
