Downtown in Pueblo in Pueblo County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
The Artist for Marcelino Baca - Huberto Maestas
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Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 11, 2025
1. The Artist for Marcelino Baca - Huberto Maestas Marker
Marcelino Baca (1808-1862) was born in Taos, Mexico. In the 1820s, he learned trapping and the English language from companies of American trappers based in Taos and Santa Fe. As a member of Jim Bridger's American Fur Company, he was introduced to trapping in the upper Missouri River region. Near the end of 1838, Baca was taken captive by a Pawnee tribe with the intent to use him as a ritual sacrifice. The chief's daughter opposed this, which led to her marriage to Baca. Their children were later baptized and their marriage formalized at the Catholic church in Taos. Baca was trapping in the Arkansas River area and trading pelts at the Pueblo Trading Post at its beginning. When the pelt market declined, he took up ranching and farming while trading and raising livestock on a ranch near the post. A month after the 1854 Ute attack, Baca's brother was killed by the Utes near the post. Baca then moved back to New Mexico territory and was living there when he joined the northern effort in the Civil War. Baca was killed at Valverde, New Mexico territory. His only daughter married the son of Charles Autobees. During his years in the fur trade, Baca was known as the best trapper and hunter in the mountains.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities
this page online
Location. 38° 15.995′ N, 104° 36.57′ W. Marker is in Pueblo, Colorado, in Pueblo County. It is in Downtown. It can be reached from the intersection of Central Main Street and Richmond Avenue, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 297 Central Main St, Pueblo CO 81003, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Colorado’s Arkansas River Valley and in the Front Range. 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 the Comancherνa and also the Republic of Texas.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Artist for Charles Autobees - Dustin Payne C/A (within shouting distance of this marker); The Artist for Teresita Sandoval & Deon Duncan (within shouting distance of this marker); Pueblo Trading Post (within shouting distance of this marker); Teresita Sandoval (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Matthew Kinkead (about 400 feet away); Evocation (about 500 feet away); Fort Pueblo (about 600 feet away); Borderland / Pueblo / Railroads / Pueblo Country (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pueblo.
More about this marker. The Walk of Legends runs from Central Main Street to North Union Avenue.
Also see . . .
1. The Pueblo Chieftain article on the sculptures at the Walk of Legends. 3 pioneers are immortalized
Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 11, 2025
2. Marcelino Baca by sculptor Huberto Maestas
In this creation, Huberto Maestas, a sculptor from San Luis, Colorado, depicts Baca as a mountain man cloaked in fur with a powder horn around his neck and a rife in his left hand.
2. Legends of America - Marcelino Baca Fur Trader. (Submitted on August 18, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 18, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 18, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 96 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 18, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
