Conejos County

Costilla County was the first area of the state of Colorado to be colonized with recorded history dating back to 1540, the year Coronado explored the Southwest. It is home to the oldest town in Colorado, San Luis. Costilla County has two incorporated towns and several smaller communities.

Established on April 5, 1851, San Luis is the Costilla county seat and the oldest continuously occupied settlement in Colorado. County communities include two incorporated towns—San Luis and Blanca—as well as the unincorporated Fort Garland and hundreds of single rural dwellings. As of 2014 the population of Costilla County stood at 3,568, with 64 percent of citizens claiming Hispanic heritage. The majority of the remaining population are white. The county retains a pastoral and agricultural economy and serves as a railway corridor between Colorado and New Mexico. Prior to European settlement, Costilla County was home to the Utes, but several other Native American groups such as the Apache, Comanche, and Navajo visited to hunt, trade, and raid.