San Luis Plaza

San Luis Plaza, formally the Plaza de San Luis de la Culebra, is the historic center of San Luis, a small town in Costilla County near the New Mexico border. San Luis was founded in 1851 as San Luis de la Culebra and is generally described as the oldest continuously inhabited town in Colorado. Settlers from northern New Mexico laid it out on the traditional Spanish pattern, with a central plaza and homes and a church grouped around it, and that layout still shapes the village today.

Standing in the plaza, you are surrounded by the story of the Hispanic communities that settled the Sangre de Cristo foothills. The Church of the Most Precious Blood, which gives the area a landmark skyline, is close by, along with the county courthouse and older adobe and frame houses that reflect the character of the settlement. The plaza lies within the San Luis Historic District and the wider Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area, designations that recognize the cultural value of the town and the farms around it. The San Luis People's Ditch, dug soon after the settlement was founded, carries water from Culebra Creek and is regarded as the oldest water right in the state.

Visitors usually walk the plaza and the surrounding blocks at a slow pace. It is a quiet place rather than a busy tourist center, and the most rewarding approach is to read the buildings, look at the church and enjoy the mountains in the background. The Culebra Range rises to the east, and the open valley stretches to the west. On a hill above town, a shrine of bronze sculptures by artist Huberto Maestas depicts the Stations of the Cross and draws many pilgrims and walkers.

San Luis has limited services, so it makes sense to arrive with a plan. Colorado Highway 159 is the main route, and travelers should carry fuel and water. Nearby San Luis Chapel, Culebra Canyon, San Luis State Park and the Rio Grande National Forest broaden an outing beyond the plaza. The plaza suits history lovers, photographers and anyone interested in the Hispano heritage of Colorado, and it is a calm place to stop on a long drive through the south of the state.