U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Region 6 - Cultural Recourse Program

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Region 6 - Cultural Recourse Program

Pedro Trujillo Homestead

Baca National Wildlife Refuge– South Central Colorado

From The National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

R. Laurie Simmons and Thomas H. Simmons

Front Range Research Associates.Inc.

2003

Note:This property is not currently included on the Refuge but will be added in the near future.

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Creation of theHomestead

Pedro Trujillo, the sonof San Luis ValleypioneerTeofilo (or Tiofilo) Trujillo (1838-1915), homesteaded thesiteof thisranch. Pedro's father, bornin NewMexico when it wasa possession of Mexico, had settled a miletothe northeast of thissitein about1866.He was one ofa waveof NewMexican settlers whomovednorth and occupied landsin southern Colorado duringthe1850s and 1860s. The senior Trujillo raisedbothcattle and sheep,with sheep eventuallypredominating.The 1885State Census reportedthathe had 600sheep, 500 lambs, and 70 cattleand produced450tons of hay.

Pedro Trujillo, born in Taos, NewMexico, in 1866, and raised on TeofiloTrujillo's homestead, settledon this160-acre tractof land in October1879, at the age of thirteen years. As a first generationAmerican,Pedro'slife reflected the culturaltensioncreatedby the contactof traditional Hispaniclifestyles and agricultural practiceswiththatof Anglo-Americans moving into the area.Rather than erectinga traditional adobe dwelling as his fatherhad, Pedro built this two-story log dwelling whichwas more in keepingwith Anglo-American dwelling construction in the vicinity.In his use of the land, Pedro'sapproachalso differed markedly from thatof his father. In about 1933, Civil WorksAdministration workerCharles Gibson, Jr., interviewed Pedro and wrotethisaccount:

As Teofiloprospered,he added a band of sheep to his holdingsof cattleand horses, and troubledevelopedbetween him and his son Pete. The boy was extremelyfond of horses and was a wonderful horseman. His friendsclaim he could ride anythingon four legs, and he says nowthathis years of Bronchobusting is probablythe cause of his presentcrippledcondition.Pete refusedto becomea sheep-herderand argued withhis fatherthatthe sheep wouldcause him trouble,as thathad alwaysbeen a cattlecountry.

Beforehe wasof legalage, Pete filedon a homestead three-quarters of a milewestof hisfathers [sic]place, and set up his own establishment, confining his efforts totheraisingof horsesand cattle.1

Pedro Trujillo's original homestead parcelincluded theWest ½ oftheNortheast ¼ and the Southeast ¼ of theNortheast ¼ ofSection 11and theSouthwest ¼ of theNorthwest ¼ of Section 12. No improvements werepresent on thelandwhen he settled.In December 1885, Pedro stated in his pre-emption prooftestimony thathe had builta three-room house, a stable, a windmill, a corral, and 1.5milesoffence,with a total valueofabout$1,100. He raisedhayon 120 acres and had threeacresin vegetables.Given Pedro's youth at thetimeof settlement and his prooftestimony, it is unclearif his fatherprovided assistance in establishing thehomestead or howclosely thetwo menwereassociated in ranching operations.Pedro's landabutted that ofhis father, and he is notlistedseparately on theagricultural schedule of the1880 Census. 2

Pedro married Sofia(Sophia)Martinez in 1885, when he wasnineteen and she wasthirteen. The couplehad sixteen children, nineofwhom werebornwhile theywereliving at the homestead.Pedro addedadditional landstohis holdings overtheyears, including a Cash Entry patent (1891), a purchase ofstateland (1900), and a DesertLands patent (1901), and eventually amassedmorethan500 acres.3

Conflict Between Cattle and Sheep Raisers

In early1 902, conflict between cattle ranchers and sheepmen in thearea impacted theTrujillo family.As one of thelargest sheepraisers in thearea, Teofilo Trujillo became thetarget of violent intimidation by cattle operators.In January 1902, aboutninety headof hissheepwere killedand others driven awayby employees of cattleman GeorgeDorris. The MoscaHerald commented that''thewarthathas ragedbetween thecattle and sheepmen ofthestatehas broken outin thisvicinity."The AlamosaCourier described Trujillo as "aninoffensive old man whohas livedin thisvicinity forthepastforty yearsas a law-abiding citizen."In February, Teofilo Trujillo's house(including a reported $8,000 in cashon hand)wasburned tothe ground.

The Mosca Heraldreported that"Trujillo had one of thebestranchhousesin thevalleyand the losswasconsiderable."4 One local history publication provided thisperspective on theconflict:

In theValleytherangewarwasnotonlybetween owners ofsheepand cattle but between persons of different cultural backgrounds.It is generally believed in the Valleythatit wasbecause of his refusal tosell his land toa cattle interest that Teofilo's ranchhousewasburnedto theground in 1902.5

In earlyMarch 1902, Teofilo Trujillo soldhis ranchand itswater rights tocattlemen LorenB. Sylvester and RichardW. Hosford of theMedano Ranchfor$30,000 and moved to thetown of San Luis. Pedro soldhis ranchin thesametransaction and moved to theSargentarea, where he purchased 400 acresof landwith waterrights and laterservedas a deputy sheriff.Trujillodescendants believethatPedro moved at thesame timebecause he wasalso threatened, noting that"evenif Pedro raisedcattle and notsheep, he wasstillTeofilo's son and facedthesame dangers."WhenPedro Trujillo died in 1934, the Monte VistaJournal notedthat"heplayedan important partin theearlydevelopment" of theSan Luis Valley.6

The Trujillo landsbecame partof theholdings of Sylvester and Hosford, whohad purchased the adjoining Medano Ranchin 1901.After theoriginal owner's departure, theTrujillo homestead wasoccupied by EulojioMartinez whoworked on theexpanded ranchintothemid-1930s. During thelateryearsof theLingerfamily era at theMedano Ranch(late1930s and 1940s), the log dwelling wasusedtohouseranchhandsbutwasconsidered less desirable due to its isolation.A 1937 aerial photograph shows the house, thecorraldivided intosections, the stable(with what appearstobe a fenced enclosure tothewest), and threebuildings thatare no longerextant: two smallbuildings on thenorth side of thecorralat theeastend and a building north of thehouse. The homestead, acquired by The Nature Conservancy in 1999, is not currently occupied.

Description of the Remains

The Pedro Trujillo homestead in ruralAlamosa County, Colorado, wasestablished in 1879 and functioned as a smallcattle ranchuntil 1902, when it wasacquired bya largecattle operation. The historic complex includes a two-story logdwelling, a log stable, and a largecorralarea. The site includes landscape features and two significant archaeological concentrations.

Homestead Site: 1879

The homestead site includes a welland a circular metalstocktank (with a willow treegrowing in it)about30feetsouthof thehouse, as wellas a wood post fence with a collapsed gatein front of thehouseto theeast. Two artifact concentrations, one aroundthehouseand one at thenortheast cornerof thecorral, are features of thesite. Artifact Concentration 1 surrounds thehouseand contains bothprehistoric and historic artifacts, including buttons, squarenails,glassfragments (purple, clearamber, and cobalt), milled lumber, cans,bricks, white ceramic fragments, leatherand miscellaneous metal scrap, threemanos, and two metates.Artifact Concentration 2 at thenortheast cornerofthecorralcontains a metal sign, miscellaneous metalpartsand scraps, purpleglassfragments, clearglass,and Native American ceramics (probably fromtheNorthern Puebloanarea). The artifacts in the two concentrations represent evidence ofdomestic occupation and disposal ofbroken or used items, and remainsassociated with ranching operations/construction and maintenance activities.The datesof theartifacts rangefrompossible prehistoric/protohistoric timestothedocumented historic periodoccupation.7

Ranch House: 1879-85

The ranchhouseis an east­ facingtwo-story rectangular (16'X 20')logdwelling with a one-story lean-to log projection on therear. Most of thewindows and doorsare missing and thehousehas beenopentothe weather and animalsforsometime.The househas a side gableroofwith standing seam metal roofing (partially missing, with horizontal planksexposed) and overhanging eaves. The designis similartothatofa nineteenth century 1-house, although thestairsare located to theside rather thanin thecenter.The houseis composed of mostly unhewn logs, with widesections of daubing between thelogs. The cornerlogsof the mainpartof thehousehaveV-notched tops with roundbottoms, with somevertical boardsplacedoverthenotches. The rear projection has square-notched logs. The househas a log pierfoundation with concrete alongthefoundation at thefront of thebuilding.

The eastwall(facade)has roundlogson theupperstoryand square-hewn logson thelower story. Thereis a centerentrance with plainboardsurround flanked by tall, narrow windows with plainwood surrounds thatare without glassand boarded up on thelower part. Centered abovethewindows on thesecondstoryare window openings of similarsize (one windowretains thefour-section upperpartof itsframe).

The north wallis composed of roundlogsextending to theeavesand has no openings. Thereare plainfriezeboards. The north wallof theone-story shed roof projection is composed of square-hewn logswith squarenotches with widedaubing and the uppersection of thewallundertheeavesis cladwith vertical boards. Thereis concrete on the foundation of theprojection.Thereis onewindow opening on thenorth wallof theprojection.

Thewestwall(rear) of thehousehas a deteriorated red brickchimney on theslopeof the roof. The one-story projection has wood shingle roofing and a (somewhat newer) orangebrickchimney with metaltop. Thewallof theprojection has square-hewn logswith squarenotches.Thereis a rectangular window opening on thewest wallof theprojection.

The southwallof theprojection has boardand batten sidingon theupperpartof thewalland square-hewn logswith squarenotches.Thereis an off-center entrance on thesouthwallof the projection.The southwallof thehousehas roundlogswith V notches.Thewallhas a small window on thefirststorywith plainboardsurround.

According toa study of thebuilding performed by MarkJonesin October 2002, the interior finishes of thebuilding wereoriginally adobemudand straw plaster, with limewashand paint. Later,someareaswerewallpapered.Thewood floorswereoriginally set on log girders laid on theground.The addition had a beadboard ceiling.8

Stable/Barn: pre-1885

The rectangular stableis 52feetin length and is composed of roundand square-hewn logs. The building has a lowgabledroof. The southhalfof thestablehas stallswith wood plankfloorsand is openon theeastand partially collapsed.The north halfof thebuilding has a lowentrance near thecenterwith upright logson eithersideand hingedvertical boarddoors. The north wallof thestableis composed of shortscrappiecesofwood.The interior is divided intothreeintact stallswithwood boxesat therear and has wood plankwalls.Trujillo descendants indicate thatthis building wasusedas a horsebarn.

Corral: north portion probably pre-1885; southern portion post-1937

The largecorralarea is divided intopensand has a long, widealley. The pensare composed of horizontal boardsand log posts.Thereis a vertical boardfenceon thenorth and a polefenceon thesouth.Gatesin thecorralhavetall polesand cross-pieces.Thereis a swinging gateat thesoutheast end and othergateswith metalchords.Cornergatecomplexes permit fourpenstobe openedand closedforaccesstootherpensor alleys. The loading chute is at thenorthwest cornerand thereis also a branding chute.Thereis a metaltrough.A collapsed woven wireand logfenceis westof thecorral.9

Endnotes

1 Pedro Trujillo, Interview, Civil Works Administration, Alamosa County, Colorado, Charles E. Gibson, Jr., interviewer, 1933-34, in the files of the Colorado Historical Society, Denver, Colorado.

2 Pedro Trujillo, Homestead Entry Case file, number 717, 168.11 acres, Township 40 North, Range 11 East, Section 11 (NE ¼ NE ¼, S ½ NE ¼, NW ¼ NE ¼) in the files of the National Archives, Record Group 49, Washington, DC. Pedro's daughter, Andrea Trujillo Lujan, believes that his operation was independent, noting that Pedro was a cattleman. He also had horses and mules. See, Andrea Trujillo Lujan and Maria Tita Causby, “Medano Ranch," Monte Vista, Colorado, answers to questions posed by Marilyn Martorano and Thomas H. Simmons, November 2003.

3 Pedro Trujillo, family group sheet, undated, prepared by Maria Martinez, Monte Vista, Colorado; Pedro Trujillo, Cash Entry patent, number 772, 3 March 1891, 160 acres; Desert Land Act, number 36, 8 August 1901, 80.26 acres, Township 40 North, Range 11 East, Section 12 (SE 1/4 NE ¼) and Range 12 East, Section 7 (lot 2); and State Land Purchase, number 1717, 29 January 1900, 120 acres.

4 Alamosa Courier, 8 February 1902; Center Dispatch, 7 February 1902 (citing an article in the Mosca Herald); Saguache Crescent, 30 January 1902 (citing an article in the Mosca Herald).

5 Sargent Centennial Bicentennial Committee, Sargent Stanley Community Reflections (Sargents, Colo.: Sargent Centennial Bicentennial Committee, 1977?), 209.

6 Alamosa Courier, 1 March 1902; Monte Vista Journal, 1 March 1902 and 29 June 1934; Andrea Trujillo Lujan and Maria Tita Causby, "Medano Ranch," Monte Vista, Colorado, answers to questions posed by Marilyn Martorano and Thomas H. Simmons, November 20.

7The discussion of archaeological artifacts and theirsignificance at the site is drawn fromsurveyformspreparedby M.Martorano, T. Hoefer, D. Killam, and D. McClellan, RMC Consultants, Inc.,Lakewood, Colorado, October2002.

8Mark Jones Associates, "Preliminary Field Assessment Medano Ranch Headquarters Complex Trujillo Homestead," Prepared for RMC Consultants,6 May 2003.

9A corral was present in 1919, when Andrea Trujillo Lujan (daughter of Pedro) workedon the ranch one summer and lived in this house; she was born in 1904, so did not live in this house while growingup.Andrea Trujillo Lujan and Maria Tita Causby, "MedanoRanch," MonteVista, Colorado, answers to questions posed by MarilynMartoranoand Thomas H. Simmons, November2003.

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