Guadalupe is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

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 ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. The community, which is centered on a grassy

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

, is located on the north bank of the

Conejos River The Conejos River is a tributary of the Rio Grande, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 31, 2011 in south-central Colorado in the United States. It d ...

, just north of

Conejos, Colorado Conejos is an unincorporated town, a post office, a census-designated place (CDP), and the county seat of Conejos County, Colorado, United States. The Conejos post office has the ZIP Code 81129. At the United States Census 2010, the population ...

, along Conejos County Road 13.

History

Guadalupe was among the first settlements in the

San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately long and wide, extending from the Continental Divide on the northwest rim into New Mexico on the south. It co ...

. It was founded by

Lafayette Head Lafayette Head (April 9, 1825 – March 8, 1897) was the first Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, serving from 1876 to 1879 under Governor John Long Routt. Early life and family Lafayette Head was born at Head's Fort, Howard County, Missour ...

in 1854. Guadalupe served as the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

from 1861 — when the county was established — until 1863, when the county seat was moved to nearby and slightly higher Conejos, due to flooding from the Conejos River in Guadalupe.

References

Unincorporated communities in Conejos County, Colorado Unincorporated communities in Colorado Former county seats in Colorado {{Colorado-geo-stub