Hispanic Settlement
In 1776, Spanish explorers led by padres Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante traveled 2,000 miles into new territory, most of which had never been seen by white men. Their journey included nearly all of Utah, large sections of Arizona and New Mexico and the western area of Colorado. In their company were an engineer and mapmaker, and several men who had previously entered part of the territory as traders. They were equipped and funded by the Catholic Church of Old Mexico, which was ruled by Spain at the time.
In 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain and the Southwest became a part of Mexico. The Mexican American War of 1846 and subsequent treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo established the present boundaries between the U.S. and Mexico.
More and more freighting expeditions opened up the north south route through Colorado, giving additional mobility to the Hispanic population. Hispanos from New Mexico moved north and were joined by Mexican nationals. In the mid-1800s, the San Luis Valley became a stronghold of Hispanic tradition and culture in Colorado.
Mexican Americans were already prospecting for gold in the Platte River near present-day Denver when gold was “discovered” in Colorado in 1858. An estimated 100,000 gold seekers set out for Colorado in 1859, transforming the fledgling settlement of Denver into an important regional center. In their fervor to get to the gold fields of the Rocky Mountains, prospectors literally stumbled over veins of coal which were to become east Boulder County’s mainstay for many years to come.
As industrialization came to the state in the early 1900s, there was a significant migration of Hispanos from south central and western Colorado. These newcomers sought work in the steel mills, sugar beet industry and coal mines as far north as Ft. Collins. Large numbers of Mexican nationals migrated north for these same job opportunities and soon outnumbered the Hispano Coloradoans.
The Abeytas, whose history in Colorado goes back 150 years, are one of Lafayette’s oldest Hispanic families. Even more venerable, the Archuleta family history dates back to the early Conquistadors. Edward Abeyta worked in the coal mines as did many heads of Lafayette Hispanic households in the early 1900s. Some of these hardworking coal miners included David Manzanarez, Lloyd Martinez, Emilio Silva, Henry Rosales, and Jose Benito Salizar.
The Joseph Martinez family came to Lafayette in a covered wagon in the early 1900s and Mr. Martinez worked as a crop harvester and farmer.
Another notable Lafayette citizen of Hispanic descent was Alicia Sanchez, whose name is honored by the Alicia Sanchez Elementary School.
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