San Acacio 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 ...

and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by

Costilla County Costilla County (Spanish for "rib") is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,499. The county seat is San Luis, the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado. History On July 8, 1694, ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, 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 wes ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The population of the San Acacio CDP was 40 at the

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

. The Sanford

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

( Zip Code 81151) serves San Acacio postal addresses.

History

San Acacio is located in the Rio Culebra valley of the

Sangre de Cristo Land Grant The Sangre de Cristo Land Grant in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico consists of of mostly arid land. It was awarded by the government of New Mexico to the Beaubien family in 1843. The land grant was originally settl ...

which was awarded to the family of

Carlos Beaubien Charles H. Beaubien (October 22, 1800 – February 6, 1864), also known as Alexis Beaubien, Don Carlos Beaubien and Charles Trotier, was a Canadian-born American fur trader who was one of two investors who owned of northeastern New Mexico and sou ...

in 1843.The San Acacio Post Office was established in 1909, and remained in operation until 1992. The community was named after Saint Acacius.

Historic buildings and landmarks

*San Acacio Mission Church (''Capilla de Viejo San Acacio'') – Built early in the 1860s, the Mission of San Acacio is the oldest standing church in Colorado. Constructed with 24-inch adobe walls, the mission underwent extensive restoration during the 1990s. In addition to stabilizing the foundation, several wooden columns were added to the interior to take the weight of the roof off the fragile walls. An altar screen, or

retablo A retablo is a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally ''retablo'' is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether ...

, was commissioned from Maria Romero Cash, a New Mexican artist specializing in religious folk art. *San Acacio Bank *Old San Acacio Cemetery – In old San Acacio there is a cemetery nicknamed Viejo Cemetery. The cemetery is located in a churchyard in Old San Acacio. The oldest marked grave in the cemetery is from 1907, and the cemetery is currently full. *New San Acacio Cemetery – The new cemetery is located 3/4 mile south of San Acacio. It is a public cemetery, and the oldest marked grave in the cemetery is from 1906. It is currently in use.

Geography

San Acacio is located in western Costilla County in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado.

Colorado State Highway 142 State Highway 142 (SH 142) is a long state highway in southern Colorado. SH 142's western terminus is at U.S. Route 285 (US 285) near Romeo, and the eastern terminus is at SH 159 in San Luis. Route description SH 142 begins in ...

runs through San Acacio, leading east to San Luis and west to U.S. Route 285 at

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

. The San Acacio CDP has an area of , all land.

Demographics

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

initially defined the for the

References

External links