Antonio Don Archuleta (1855 – ) was a member of the

Colorado Senate The Colorado Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of about 123, ...

and the namesake of

Archuleta County Archuleta County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,359. The county seat and the only incorporated municipality in the county is Pagosa Springs. History Archuleta County was created ...

; he was influential in its formation.

Biography

Archuleta was born in 1855 in Taos, New Mexico Territory, to José Manuel Archuleta; he moved to

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the w ...

shortly after his birth. He was descended from "one of the old Spanish families of New Mexico". In 1876, he was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...

from

Conejos County Conejos County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,461. The county seat is the unincorporated community of Conejos. Being 50.7% Hispanic in 2020, Conejos was Colorado's largest Hispa ...

and to the Colorado Senate in 1883, serving until 1887. Archuleta introduced legislation in 1885 for the formation of Archuleta County; he moved there in 1887 following the completion of his term and became a rancher. Archuleta County was named in honor his father, Hon. José Manuel de Jesus Archuleta and family. Archuleta was described as a "friend and supporter of the McKinley administration." He was a member of the

Woodmen of the World WoodmenLife (officially Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society) is a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society founded in 1890, based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that operates a large privately held insurance company for its members. ...

fraternal organization. Archuleta married Lauriana (or Lauranna) Gallegos in 1877; she died in 1920. They had one son, Daniel Ross Archuleta. Archuleta was killed in 1918 near Pilares de Nacozari, Nacozari de García Municipality,

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archuleta, Antonio D. 1855 births 1918 deaths American people of Spanish descent Republican Party Colorado state senators Republican Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Neomexicanos People from Conejos County, Colorado People from Pagosa Springs, Colorado People from Taos, New Mexico People murdered in Mexico Ranchers from Colorado 19th-century American politicians People from Archuleta County, Colorado