General Note: Part of the CWA Pioneer Interviews Collection. Consists of a brief historical sketch of the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Although Native Americans had long lived in the Valley, the first settlements of non-Native Americans began to spring up in the early 1850s, when a number of settlers from New Mexico made their way to the Valley. The first American presence in the Valley began in 1852, when Fort Massachusetts was established. By 1865 there were a number of New Mexican and American settlements in the Valley, including San Luis, Saguache City, and Milton, as well as a military presence at Fort Garland.
Web Location: https://www.historycolorado.org/oral-histories