Santa Rosa

The panel names the town for Celso Baca's wife; several accounts say his mother instead. His ranch here was first called Agua Negra Chiquita, for a small stream. He built an adobe chapel, by most accounts in the 1870s, and dedicated it to Santa Rosa de Lima, the first saint canonized from the Americas, and around 1890 the settlement took the chapel's name. Whichever Rosa he meant to honor, the saint was in the name either way. The chapel's ruins still stand.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Santa Rosa Population 2,469 - Elevation 4,620 The Spanish explorer Antonio de Espejo passed through this area in 1583, as did Gaspar Castaño de Sosa in 1590. Santa Rosa, the Guadalupe County seat, was laid out on the ranch of Celso Baca y Baca, a politician and rancher in the late 1800s. It was named for his wife, Doña Rosa.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Blue Hole — 1.4 mi
  A bell-shaped artesian spring in Santa Rosa, 81 feet deep and a steady 61 or 62 degrees, where divers from across the region learn to dive at altitude.

More markers nearby

• Santa Rosa Lake State Park — 2.1 mi
• Santa Rosa — 2.5 mi
• Santa Rosa — 3.0 mi
• Puerto de Luna — 8.2 mi