Editing Conejos County, Colorado (section)

==History==
The first European known to visit this area was [[Juan de Oñate|Juan de Oñate y Salazar]] in 1550 followed by  [[Don (honorific)|Don]] [[Diego de Vargas]] in 1694, but he left behind no colonists. In 1708, [[Juan de Uribarri]] passed through searching for run-away Indian slaves.<ref>Mead, Frances Harvey, ''Conejos County:The Canyons...The River...The Villages and the People'', copyright, Frances Harvey Mead, 1894, p.1,2</ref>

Conejos County was one of the original 17 counties created by the [[Colorado General Assembly|General Assembly]] of the [[Territory of Colorado]] on 1851-11-01. Conejos County was originally named [[Guadalupe County, Colorado Territory|Guadalupe County]] but was renamed Conejos County a week later on November 7. Its name comes from the Spanish word "''conejo''", meaning rabbit, for the abundance of rabbits in the area. Also early in its existence, the county seat was moved from the town of [[Guadalupe, Colorado|Guadalupe]] to Conejos. The original boundaries of the county included a large portion of southwestern Colorado.

In 1874, most of the western and northern portions of the county were broken away to form parts of [[Hinsdale County, Colorado|Hinsdale]], [[La Plata County, Colorado|La Plata]] and [[Rio Grande County, Colorado|Rio Grande]] counties, and Conejos County achieved its modern borders in 1885 when its western half was taken to create [[Archuleta County, Colorado|Archuleta County]].

===Religious history===
The community of Conejos is the location of the oldest extant church house in [[Colorado]], constructed in 1856 and named "Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish".<ref name=parish>{{cite web|url=http://www.ologp.com/read-more--1-.html|title=History|work=ologp.com|publisher=Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish|location=Conejos, Colorado|access-date=November 24, 2020}}</ref>  The first settlers into the area were from [[New Mexico]], primarily from Abiquiu, San Juan de los Caballeros and Santa Cruz. As more people arrived, mission churches were set up and all had the records housed in Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.

When the neighboring town Los Sauces of [[Antonito, Colorado|Anitonito]]  was built, the [[Theatines]], priests from Spain, came into the area and built St. Augustine church in 1880 within Antonito. The church records from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish are now housed at the church offices of Saint Augustine. Conejos is approximately a mile northwest of Antonito.

[[Presbyterians]] came into Conejos County in 1880 establishing churches in Antonito, Alamosa, Cenicero, Del Norte, Mogote, San Rafael, and Monte Vista. They also established schools in the area and had a large number of [[Hispanic]] converts. A [[jacal]] went up in 1854 in Guadalupe, now known as Conejos, which was the beginning of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.

There is also a large [[Mormon]] population within Conejos County. Settlers belonging to [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) began settling in the towns of La Jara, Manassa and Sanford; each town currently has an LDS [[meetinghouse]]. Fox Creek, a village approximately 11 miles west of Antonito, is the newest community to have an LDS meetinghouse erected, although there had previously been a meetinghouse there. Fox Creek, however, does not have a predominantly Mormon population.

===Genealogy===
Records available for this area are marriage records, which are held by the county clerk. Divorce records are maintained by the clerk of the district court. Agencies that hold records for marriages and divorces from 1900 to 1939 are the Colorado State Archives and [[Denver Public Library]] Genealogy Department. Other records available are marriage records from 1871 and death records from 1877 to 1907. This also include land records from 1871, probate records from 1875, and court records from 1877. However, some records were lost due to a fire, but birth records for 1877-1907 are still preserved.<ref>Alice Eichholz, ''Red Book American State'', County and Town Sources; Ancestry.com, Colorado.</ref> Websites that will be of use when doing genealogical research are [http://www.cogensoc.us/ The Colorado Genealogical Society] and [http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/military/enlistments/conejos.html Conejos County WW II Enlistments].

===Amendment 64===
When Colorado Amendment 64 was being voted into effect by Coloradans, Conejos County residents voted against approving the measure to legalize and regulate recreational Marijuana consumption and possession for those 21 or older; Conejos residents simultaneously voted for a Democratic president in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, making Conejos county the only Colorado county with the distinction of leaning liberal with the 2008 and 2012 presidential picks while leaning conservative with regard to marijuana policy.