Editing San Luis, Colorado

{{short description|Town in Colorado, United States}}
{{distinguish|San Luis Río Colorado}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
|name                     = San Luis, Colorado
|native_name              = ''San Luis de la Culebra''
|nickname                 = 
|settlement_type          = [[List of cities and towns in Colorado#Statutory town|Statutory Town]]
|motto                    = The Oldest Town in Colorado
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
|image_skyline            = San Luis, Colorado.JPG
|image_caption            = Entering San Luis from the west
|image_flag               = 
|flag_size                = 
|image_seal               = 
|seal_size                = 
|image_shield             = 
|shield_size              = 
|image_blank_emblem       = 
|blank_emblem_type        = 
|blank_emblem_size        = 
|image_map                = File:Costilla County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas San Luis Highlighted 0868105.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of San Luis in Costilla County, Colorado.
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
|image_dot_map            = 
|dot_mapsize              = 
|dot_map_caption          = 
|dot_x                    = 
|dot_y                    = 
|pushpin_map              = Colorado#USA<!-- the name of a location map as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Location_map -->
|pushpin_label            = San Luis
|pushpin_label_position   = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_map_caption      = 
|pushpin_mapsize          =
<!-- Location ------------------>
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = {{USA}}
|subdivision_type1        = State
|subdivision_name1        = {{flag|Colorado|name=State of Colorado}}
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Colorado|County]]<ref name=COMun>{{cite web | url = http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html | title = Active Colorado Municipalities | publisher = [[Colorado|State of Colorado]], Department of Local Affairs | accessdate = September 1, 2007 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20091212060308/http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html | archivedate = December 12, 2009 }}</ref>
|subdivision_name2        = [[Costilla County, Colorado|Costilla County]] – [[County seat|seat]]<ref name=CountySeatsCO>{{cite web|url=http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hs/cntyseat.html|title=Colorado County Seats|publisher=[[State of Colorado]], Department of Public Health and Environment|accessdate=December 31, 2007}}</ref>
|subdivision_type3        = 
|subdivision_name3        = 
<!-- Politics ----------------->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = [[Colorado municipalities#Statutory town|Statutory Town]]<ref name=COMun/>
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = <!-- for places with, say, both a mayor and a city manager -->
|leader_name1             = 
|leader_title2            = 
|leader_name2             = 
|established_title        = Established
|established_date         = April 9, 1851
|established_title2       = Incorporated
|established_date2        = 1885
|established_title3       = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
|established_date3        =
<!-- Area    --------------------->
|area_magnitude           = 
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           =<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_08.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 1, 2020}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 1.47
|area_land_km2            = 1.47
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 0.57
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.57
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
<!-- Population   ----------------------->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     =<ref name="Census 2020">{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/San_Luis_town,_Colorado?g=160XX00US0868105 |title=San Luis town, Colorado |author=United States Census Bureau|date= |website= |publisher= |access-date=April 28, 2023 |quote=}}</ref>
|population_note          = 
|population_total         = 598
|population_density_km2   = auto
|population_density_sq_mi = auto
<!-- General information  --------------->
|timezone                 = [[Mountain Time Zone|MST]]
|utc_offset               = -7
|timezone_DST             = [[Mountain Time Zone|MDT]]
|utc_offset_DST           = -6
|coordinates              = {{coord|37|12|09|N|105|25|21|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes      =<ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 7989
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]<ref name=ZIPcode>{{cite web | url = http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp | title = ZIP Code Lookup | format = [[JavaScript]]/[[HTML]] | publisher = [[United States Postal Service]] | accessdate = January 1, 2008 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20101104123722/http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp | archivedate = November 4, 2010 }}</ref>
|postal_code              = 81152
|area_code                = [[Area code 719|719]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 08-68105
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2413253<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2413253}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|townofsanluisco.org}}
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
}}

'''San Luis''' is a [[Colorado municipalities#Statutory town|statutory town]] that is the [[county seat]] and the most populous town of [[Costilla County, Colorado|Costilla County]], Colorado, United States.<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|accessdate=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> Formerly known as ''San Luis de la Culebra'', it is the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.coloradocentralmagazine.com/lines-in-the-sand/|title=Lines in the sand|author-first=Mike|author-last=Rosso|work=Colorado Central Magazine|date=November 1, 2010|access-date=February 28, 2023}}</ref> The population was 598 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2020" />

==History==
[[File:La casa del senor Don Alberto Forbes, de San Luis, Colo. 1909.jpg|thumb|left|La casa del senor Don Alberto Forbes, San Luis, 1909]]
The Town of San Luis is centuries younger than the [[pueblo]]s and villages of northern [[New Mexico]] because [[Hispanic]] settlers were wary of venturing north of the [[37th parallel north]] for fear of [[Ute people|Ute]] and [[Comanche]] raids. Armed traders traveled the [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)|Old Spanish Trail]] through the area in the early 19th century. In 1821, the [[Treaty of Córdoba]] recognized the independence of Mexico from the [[Spanish Empire]]. San Luis was in the [[Sangre de Cristo Land Grant]] awarded by the government of New Mexico to the [[Carlos Beaubien]] family in 1843. The [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] annexed northern Mexico to the United States in 1848, and the [[Compromise of 1850]] created the U.S. [[New Mexico Territory|Territory of New Mexico]].

Hispanic settlers from the [[Taos Valley]] established several small villages along the [[Culebra Creek|Rio Culebra]] in the [[San Luis Valley]] and officially took possession of this portion of the [[Charles H. Beaubien#Sangre de Cristo Land Grant|Sangre de Cristo Land Grant]] on April 9, 1851.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.coloradohistory-oahp.org/publications/pubs/614.pdf |title=The Culebra River Villages of Costilla County, Colorado|publisher=[[Colorado Historical Society]]}}<br>- {{cite web | url =http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/blm/co/17/chap5.htm |title=Land of Contrast: A History of Southeast Colorado|publisher=[[U.S. Bureau of Land Management]]}}<br>- {{cite web | url =http://www.sangres.com/colorado/costilla/sanluis.htm |title=San Luis, Colorado|website=Sangres}}<br>- {{cite web | url =http://www.costillacounty-co.gov/townofsanluis.html |title=Town of San Luis|publisher=[[Costilla County, Colorado]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625001820/http://www.costillacounty-co.gov/townofsanluis.html |archivedate=June 25, 2010 }}<br>- {{cite web | url =http://www.sangres.com/colorado/costilla/sanluis.htm |title=San Luis de la Culebra|website=Sangres}}.</ref> The settlers built a church in the central village of ''La Plaza Medio.'' They dedicated it on the [[Louis IX of France|Feast of Saint Louis]], June 21, 1851, renaming the village ''San Luis de la Culebra'' in honor of the saint.

The [[United States Army]] established [[Fort Massachusetts (Colorado)|Fort Massachusetts]] in 1852 and [[Fort Garland]] in 1858 to provide protection for the settlers in the valley. The village of San Luis remained part of the [[Territory of New Mexico]] until 1861 when the [[Territory of Colorado]] was established. San Luis became the [[county seat|seat]] of [[Costilla County, Colorado|Costilla County]] in 1863, and remains so to this day. [[Kit Carson|Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson]], Commander of Fort Garland, negotiated a treaty with the [[Ute people]] in 1867. Colorado became a state in 1876 and the Town of San Luis was incorporated in 1885. Today, San Luis is the oldest continuously inhabited town in the State of Colorado.<ref name="History Colorado" >{{cite web |title=Where is the Oldest Town in Colorado? |url=https://www.historycolorado.org/story/do-you-know-place/2019/10/15/where-oldest-town-colorado |website=History Colorado|date=2019}}</ref>

A ''Pueblo Chieftain'' article dated June 8, 1872, describes the three stores of San Luis as kept by Fred Meyer & Co, [[Auguste Lacome]] and Mazers & Rich in addition to a blacksmith, butcher, beer saloon, carpenter and two hotels.

Today, the town is renowned for its [[Stations of the Cross]] ascending the local mesa. The town celebrates the ''Fiesta de Santiago y Santa Ana'' each July and the San Luis Manito Christmas celebration in December.

==Geography==
The town of San Luis lies in the [[San Luis Valley]]. [[Colorado State Highway 159]] leads north {{convert|15|mi}} to [[Fort Garland, Colorado|Fort Garland]] and [[U.S. Route 160]], and south {{convert|18|mi}} to the [[New Mexico]] border. [[Colorado State Highway 142|Highway 142]] leads west {{convert|31|mi}} to [[Manassa, Colorado|Manassa]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|1.4|km2|disp=flip}}, all of it land.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0868105| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212181106/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0868105| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): San Luis town, Colorado| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate=June 24, 2014}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align= left
|1970= 781
|1980= 842
|1990= 800
|2000= 739
|2010= 629
|2020= 598
|footnote=[[United States census|U.S. Decennial Census]]
}}
<!--At the 2000 census,<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> there were 739 people, 322 households and 200 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|1555.2|/sqmi}}.  There were 376 housing units at an average density of {{convert|791.3|/sqmi}}. The racial make-up of the town was 60.49% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.27% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 2.44% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.14% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 29.50% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]] and 7.17% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 88.77% of the population.

There were 322 households, of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 37.6% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.94.

23.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 21.7% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64 and 19.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.

The [[median household income]] was $14,213 and the median family income was $20,875. Males had a median income of $20,156 and females $13,333. The per capita income was $8,887. About 29.9% of families and 34.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.1% of those under age 18 and 21.2% of those age 65 or over.-->{{clear}}

==See also==
{{portal|Colorado}}
*[[Old Spanish National Historic Trail]]
*[[Culebra Range]]
*[[Auguste Lacome]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
*[http://townofsanluisco.org/ Town of San Luis official website]
*[http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/SAN%20LUIS.pdf CDOT map of the Town of San Luis]

{{Costilla County, Colorado}}
{{Colorado|collapsed}}
{{Colorado county seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:County seats in Colorado]]
[[Category:Hispanic and Latino American culture in Colorado]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1851]]
[[Category:Towns in Costilla County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Towns in Colorado]]
[[Category:1851 establishments in New Mexico Territory]]