Conejos: Colorado's Oldest Catholic Church

Conejos is one of the oldest permanent settlements in Colorado, founded in eighteen fifty-eight by Hispano families from the Taos and northern New Mexico region who farmed the banks of the Conejos River, a tributary of the Rio Grande. Though it sits beside the slightly larger town of Antonito and is itself unincorporated, Conejos holds a distinction shared with no other place in the state: it is home to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, the oldest surviving church building in Colorado. The parish began with a small jacal in eighteen fifty-four, and the church was built in eighteen fifty-six.

Bishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy of Santa Fé, who arrived in New Mexico in eighteen fifty-one and became its first bishop in eighteen fifty-three, is the historical figure behind Willa Cather's novel Death Comes for the Archbishop. The church still holds regular services for the small surrounding community.