We can only guess what the native population thought when the long train of Spanish Explorers worked their way through the southern passes of the valley in the late 1590’s. It had to be very impressive with hundreds of people, cattle, wagons, and always with the steel clad military leading the way. An invasion from another world it must have seemed and truly, it was. This was the start of the end of what was ten thousands of years of a magnificent society. Like the much later Louis and Clark Expedition, these explorers goal was to find out what was going to be over the next river, hill or as they reached the Rockies, the next mountain. Little did they know what drastic changes they were going to introduce into this virgin land.

The Don Juan de Onate Exploration departed Spanish controlled Mexico in 1590’s with little to no knowledge of what they would end up finding. What they desired to find was the wealth of gold and to leave the European view of religion. This exploration party of Spanish, blacks and native people, included Catholic Priests, mapmakers, biologists, artists, military and many other professions. Their journey up the Rio Bravo del Norte River ( later to be called the Rio Grande ) discovered many Indian villages and Pueblos. But found no gold riches. A very well planned expedition that would create a desire for further discovery and colonizing including the 1596 expedition of Juan de Zaldivar that entered and explored the San Luis Valley. Many other Spanish explorers followed with little interest on populating this area. Many of their journals are still in publication and can be located in the larger libraries and universities.

As the valley gained popularity among the Spanish influx into this now Mexican territory, many families applied for and were given Land Grants, many for payment of services to the Spanish Crown or Mexican Government.

The most notable of these are the 1821 Baca Land Grant that included 100,000 acres in the North Eastern corner of the valley. Settlement on this piece of land was slow because of lack of Indian understanding that someone 6 thousand miles away can give away the land that they have lived and depended upon.

A much larger land grant was the 1,000,000 plus acre Sangre de Cristo / Lee & Beaubien Land Grant of 1843. These 900 square miles covered most of the southern portion of the valley.

Although many Spanish had set up farms and homes, the first Spanish settlement was not until 1851. This was the town of San Luis located in the southeastern corner of the valley. This is where a free flowing river provided a plentiful year round supply of water for growing crops and domestic use and access to roads to Santa Fe, by then a major town. This new town, named after a Catholic Saint, is still a population center and the original Hard Goods Store is still in operation.

In 1848, Mexico signs the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with the U.S., which ended the Spanish-American War of that era. This treaty cedes lands in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico to the United States. This ends the Spanish-Mexican control of this vast area, but the change was hard to see. Spanish influence was hard set into the culture of the southwest and is still a major controlling factor in the life of San Luis Valley.