Ortiz 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 of

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 ...

. Until 1885 or 1890 (accounts differ) Ortiz was called "Los Piños".Rabbitbrush Rambler: Ortiz revisited
ata lamosanews.com.

History

After 1868 sheep and wool became the main economic activities in the region and Ortiz began to develop. The construction of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway stimulated the economy and the population grew after 1880. A public school and Baptist and Presbyterian mission schools opened at various times in Ortiz as well as bars and two stores. A first

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

was constructed in 1895, and in 1938 it was replaced by the church that still exists. A post office called Ortiz was established in 1890, and remained in operation until 1943. The original proprietor, J. Nestor Ortiz, gave the community his name. When the sheep industry dwindled in the first decades of the 20th century, Ortiz started to decline and today the church building that was repaired and restored in 1990 is all that reminds of the old glory.

Population

In 2020, an

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

family settled near Ortiz, just South of the border between Colorado and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. They were joined by several other Amish families in 2021 and 2022 and formed a new Amish settlement, the first in New Mexico. This settlement is named after Ortiz even though it is in New Mexico because there is no nearby settlement in New Mexico.Amish Population 2022: Amish Call New Mexico Home
at amishamerica.com.

References

Unincorporated communities in Conejos County, Colorado Unincorporated communities in Colorado {{Colorado-geo-stub