Felipe Baca
“FOUNDER OF TRINIDAD”
1828-1874
by Antoinette Wharton
Oh the irony as I sit on the
widow’s walk of my new home
purchased by my husband and
I only one year ago. We traded
22,000 pounds of wool from the
sheep we raised for this beautiful
two story house sitting on what
I’m sure will be a main street in
the town of Trinidad. My name
is Delores and my husband,
Felipe Baca discovered the many
resources this area holds over
ten years before we acquired this
beautiful home. The year is 1874,
and one of the founders of the
up-and-coming town has passed
away. However, that will not stop
Trinidad from g rowing.
Felipe saw g reat opportunity
for this place. We both worked
very hard to pioneer a new space
only a few miles from New Mexico,
our home state.
Felipe spent
many years working diligently to
provide for myself and our now
ten children. It was in 1860 he
came across the town of Trinidad.
He saw a g reat possibility for
ranching as the soil was rich and
the water bed of the river so close
for irrigation. He spent many
years traveling back and forth to
begin to develop this region. His
dream was to be a rancher just as
his family had been before him in
Taos, New Mexico. Yet, Trinidad
held a whole new experience for
my husband.
Not only did he bring ranching
to this area, he also brought a new
spirit. We opened a general store
that we both ran. He was also
served in the territorial legislature
for what will soon be the state
of Colorado. Felipe and I took
on challenge after challenge to
build a future for this community
and this new state.
We made
opportunities from a blank canvas
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