La Cueva National Historic District

Vicente Romero was not a grantee of the Mora grant; he was a sheepherder who built inside it, and the name is usually traced to a cave he sheltered in. His mill ground wheat and corn for Fort Union. By March 1880 he was dead, and in 1883 his son Rafael joined two partners to incorporate the La Cueva Ranch Company, which later bought out Rafael and his mother. Colonel William Salman bought part of the ranch in 1944; its raspberry fields open for picking in season. The mill made the valley's electricity until about 1950.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker La Cueva National Historic District This ranching community was established by Vicente Romero in the early 1850's. The grist mill was built in the 1870's. Its proximity to Fort Union and the Santa Fe Trail helped the ranch develop into one of the region's most important commercial centers. The mill, mercantile buildings, two-story res- idence and San Rafael Church were desig- nated a National Historic District in 1973.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Union National Monument — 13 mi
  Three forts in one prairie valley where the two branches of the Santa Fe Trail met: a log post, a star-shaped earthwork, and an adobe supply town that fed the army's wars.
• Montezuma Castle — 20 mi
  The railroad's turreted resort at the Las Vegas hot springs, burned twice in its first years, empty for most of a century, and now home to an international school.

More markers nearby

• Curanderas-Women Who Heal — 5.4 mi
• Strike Valleys — 8.5 mi
• Fort Union Arsenal — 13 mi
• Watrous — 18 mi