Blanca

San Luis Valley Southern Railway Trestle

County Rd. 12, Blanca vicinity
National Register 1/6/2004, 5CT.398
The Costilla Estates Development Company, a business organized to sell lands within the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, built the 32-mile San Luis Valley Southern Railway.  This trestle, an excellent example of timber stringer standard gauge railroad bridge construction, was built in 1910 and carried freight and passenger service until 1939.  It is the only remaining SLVS trestle.  The property is associated with the Railroads in Colorado Multiple Property Submission.

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Fort Garland

Barlow & Sanderson Stagecoach

Colo. Hwy. 159, Fort Garland compound
State Register 6/14/1995, 5CT.46.1
This Barlow and Sanderson Stagecoach provided basic transportation throughout the San Luis Valley of Colorado and New Mexico in the late 19th century.  The stagecoach is a rare example of an Abbot-Downing mud wagon type built around 1871.

Fort Garland

Colo. Hwy. 159, south of US Hwy. 160
National Register 2/26/1970, Boundary Increase: State Register 12/11/1996, 5CT.46
Fort Garland is important for its association with the settlement of the San Luis Valley and southern Colorado.  Built in 1858, the fort served as a base of military operations until it was abandoned in 1883.  Company G of the Ninth Cavalry, a unit of Buffalo Soldiers, operated out of the fort from the spring of 1876 until September 1879.  The Buffalo Soldiers were African American troopers who received their nickname from Southern Plains Indians who perceived similarities between the soldiers’ curly black hair and the matted fur between the horns of the buffalo.  The Buffalo Soldiers saw scant military action through their brief assignment at Fort Garland.  In 1876, troops marched to the La Plata region to prevent conflict between Ute Indians and white prospectors.  The Colorado Historical Society operates Fort Garland as one of its regional museums.

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San Acacio

San Acacio San Luis Southern Railway Depot

North of Colo. Hwy. 142
State Register 12/9/1998, 5CT.22
Built in 1910, it is the largest depot constructed by the San Luis Southern Railway, a 32-mile standard gauge railroad built to serve the towns and farms planned by the Costilla Estates Development Company.  The two-story depot also served as railway headquarters until 1950, and it is all that is left in San Acacio to represent the railroad and the company that created the town.  The building is currently used as a bed and breakfast.

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San Luis

Plaza de San Luis de la Culebra Historic District

Colo. Hwy. 159
National Register 12/22/1978, 5CT.47
Established in 1851, San Luis is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Colorado.  The district contains an important collection of buildings that includes the county courthouse, the convent and Church of Most Precious Blood, numerous residences, and the town’s commercial core.  The district also includes the Vega, a common ground for animal grazing, and the San Luis People’s Ditch.  Listed under Culebra River Villages of Costilla County Multiple Property Submission.

Rito Seco Creek Culvert

Colo. Hwy. 142
National Register 10/15/2002, 5CT.322
Consisting of two 18-foot spans, the steel multiplate arch culvert is faced with local volcanic fieldstone.  Constructed in 1936, the culvert remains intact as a good example of one of the smaller bridges built by the Works Progress Administration during the years of the Great Depression.  Listed under Highway Bridges in Colorado Multiple Property Submission.

Salazar House

603 Main St.
State Register 5/14/1997, National Register 1/23/1998, 5CT.265
Constructed in 1906, the house is an example of an ornamental concrete block residence.  Its Queen Anne detailing is an unusual expression for concrete block construction and for Costilla County.  Listed under Ornamental Concrete Block Building in Colorado, 1900 to 1940 Multiple Property Submission.  Full nomination (PDF, 6.28 MB).

San Luis Bridge

Colo. Hwy. 159
National Register 2/4/1985, 5CT.141
Completed over Culebra Creek on the western edge of San Luis in 1911, this segmental, reinforced concrete open spandrel arch is one of the earliest unaltered bridges of this type in Colorado.  Listed under Highway Bridges in Colorado Multiple Property Submission.

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San Pablo

Sociedad de Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno (San Francisco Morada)

San Pablo vicinity
State Register 3/8/2000, 5CT.200
This circa 1908 building represents an important aspect of Hispano history in southern Colorado.  The building reflects the limited religious and governmental support in poor rural areas of predominately Hispanic populations and the aid societies that formed as a result.  Los Hermanos Penitentes (a lay religious, fraternal organization) constructed and used the building as a chapel and meeting hall.  The organization also served as a cultural force, preserving language, lore, customs, and faith within the isolated communities.  The elongated adobe building was constructed following the traditional linear plan of northern New Mexico.

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