La Loma de San Jose Diorama

In 1859 a group of 14 families left the area around Santa Fé, New Mexico, to establish a settlement in what would become southern Colorado.  These were the first Euro-American settlers of what would be Rio Grande County, and these pioneers faced the threat of hostile Indians and adverse environmental conditions in this new land.

The history of that settlement, known as La Loma de San José, is shown in this permanent exhibit at the Museum through photographs, maps, and a scale model of the settlement.

Materials and information gathered from archaeological work at the site, and from detailed historical research that gathered information from the descendants of those early settlers, are combined to present the history of this early community.

An excellent history of La Loma de San José has been prepared by Pat Richmond and contributed to this site.  Click here to view it.

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