Fort Garland in Costilla County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Welcome to El Valle De San Luis

— The San Luis Valley —

Welcome to <i>El Valle De San Luis</i> Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 11, 2025

1. Welcome to El Valle De San Luis Marker

Inscription.

Welcome to El Valle De San Luis. — The San Luis Valley —. , What is a National Heritage Area? , A national heritage area is a region recognized by the United States Congress for its unique qualities and resources , natural, scenic, cultural, historic, and recreational. , Rich in history, religion, culture, and bio-diversity, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area preserves a special place in our nation's history where the villages and lifestyles of some of America's earliest Spanish settlements still exist alongside newer railroad communities of the late 1800s. , You are entering the home of some of Colorado's earliest people. Prehistoric Clovis and Folsom people, as well as later indigenous tribal people, have hunted and gathered in this valley and surrounding mountains. Spanish explorers, Mexican settlers, fur traders, miners, American soldiers, and others have passed this way. The area was a true crossroads of cultures. , ¡Bienvenidos al Valle de San Luis! Welcome! , As you take in the majestic views of the mountain ahead, you stand near the sites of two American frontier forts, located just 6 miles apart. The tracks of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, just to the south, first entered the San Luis Valley in 1877. These same tracks, along with ancient trails, invite you to travel into the valley below today, as they have for many years., Timeline [across bottom of the interpretive panel] , 12000 B.C. . Paleoindian people in the San Luis Valley , 550 A.D. . Ancestral Puebloans settle in Mesa Verde , 1000 . Viking explorer, Leif Eriksson, arrives in America , 1350-1500 . Athabascan (Navajo and Apache) people emerge in Southwest , 1400 . Inca civilization appears in South America , 1492 . Columbus arrives in America , 1565 . St. Augustine, Florida established by Spanish (oldest permanently occupied European settlement in U.S.) , 1596 . Explorer Juan de Zaldívar enters the San Luis Valley , 1596-1800s . Spanish and other explorers to the San Luis Valley encounter indigenous peoples including the Ute, Apache, and Navajo , 1607 . Santa Fe, New Mexico founded by Spanish , 1607 . Jamestown, Virginia founded by English , 1620 . Mayflower arrives in Massachusetts , 1775-1783 . American Revolutionary War , 1776 . U.S. Declaration of Independence

What is a National Heritage Area?
A national heritage area is a region recognized by the United States Congress for its unique qualities and resources — natural, scenic, cultural, historic, and recreational.

Rich in history, religion, culture, and bio-diversity, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area preserves a special place in our nation's history where the villages and lifestyles of some of America's earliest Spanish settlements still exist alongside newer railroad communities of the late 1800s.

You are entering the home of some of Colorado's earliest people. Prehistoric Clovis and Folsom people, as well as later indigenous tribal people, have hunted and gathered in this valley and surrounding mountains. Spanish explorers, Mexican settlers, fur traders, miners, American soldiers, and others have passed this way. The area was a true crossroads of cultures.

¡Bienvenidos al Valle de San Luis! Welcome!

As you take in the majestic views of the mountain ahead, you stand near the sites of two American frontier forts, located just 6 miles apart. The tracks of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, just to the south, first entered

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

the San Luis Valley in 1877. These same tracks, along with ancient trails, invite you to travel into the valley below today, as they have for many years.

Timeline [across bottom of the interpretive panel]
12000 B.C. • Paleoindian people in the San Luis Valley
550 A.D. • Ancestral Puebloans settle in Mesa Verde
1000 • Viking explorer, Leif Eriksson, arrives in America
1350-1500 • Athabascan (Navajo & Apache) people emerge in Southwest
1400 • Inca civilization appears in South America
1492 • Columbus arrives in America
1565 • St. Augustine, Florida established by Spanish (oldest permanently occupied European settlement in U.S.)
1596 • Explorer Juan de Zaldívar enters the San Luis Valley
1596-1800s • Spanish & other explorers to the San Luis Valley encounter indigenous peoples including the Ute, Apache, and Navajo
1607 • Santa Fe, New Mexico founded by Spanish
1607 • Jamestown, Virginia founded by English
1620 • Mayflower arrives in Massachusetts
1775-1783 • American Revolutionary War
1776 • U.S. Declaration of Independence

Erected by Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways Commission, Colorado Historical Society, Colorado Department of Transportation,

Marker detail: You Are Here — Fort Garland image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: You Are Here — Fort Garland

and The Nature Conservancy.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Hispanic Americans • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1877.

Location. 37° 27.069′ N, 105° 22.248′ W. Marker is in Fort Garland, Colorado, in Costilla County. It is on U.S. 160 at milepost 262.2, 3.9 miles east of Miranda Avenue (State Highway 159), on the left when traveling east. The marker is in the Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic & Historic Byway interpretive kiosk on the north side of US Highway 160. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Fort Garland CO 81133, 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 8

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 11, 2025

3. Welcome to El Valle De San Luis Marker

Welcome “Caminante” — to Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic & Historic Byway and The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area
This marker is the leftmost of two interpretive panels on the west side of the Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic & Historic Byway kiosk in Fort Garland.
Looking east; U.S. Highway 160 is on the right.

miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Peacekeepers of the Frontier (here, next to this marker); Railroad Steams into El Valle de San Luis (here, next to this marker); Six Miles of Separation (here, next to this marker); Costilla County Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.2 miles away); a different marker also named Fort Garland (approx. 3.8 miles away); Fort Garland / Buffalo Soldiers (approx. 3.8 miles away); Trails Through Time (approx. 7.8 miles away); The San Luis Southern Railway (approx. 8.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Garland.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Fort Garland (was approx. 3.8 miles away but has been permanently removed).

Also see . . .
1. Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area.

Excerpt: With 11,000 years of documented human habitation, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area is a crossroads of the centuries. Here a unique blend of Native American, Hispano and Anglo settlement is reflected in the diversity of the people, art and traditions. The geographic isolation of our high desert valley and the peoples’ enduring ties to the land have given
Paid Advertisement

rise to a rich cultural heritage and ensured its preservation. Interwoven with the Valley’s natural history is a very long and rich human history. The San Luis Valley served prehistoric and Native American cultures as a seasonal hunting ground where fowl, game, and edible and medicinal plants were bountiful.
The San Luis Valley is a place where different peoples have converged for thousands of years. The Valley’s profound historical, religious, and cultural convergence remains visible in the landscape and can be experienced in its communities, art, food, lodging, and events.

(Submitted on March 18, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Fort Garland, Colorado (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: Fort Garland was established by the United States Army in June 1858 to protect white settlers from the Ute people in the San Luis Valley, which was then part of the New Mexico Territory. Fort Garland was built to replace the earlier Fort Massachusetts. The new Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28, 1861, and the Fort Garland, Colorado Territory, post office opened on February 25, 1862. The fort was abandoned in 1883 following the confinement of the tribes to Indian reservations in the Territory of Utah and the State of Colorado.

(Submitted on March 18, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 18, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 17, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 13 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 17, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.