Early Spanish Explorers 1598–1776

Juan de Oñate, riding horseback in military armor, points forward with his metal baton while an Indigenous man walks beside him.

Illustration: Jose’ Cisneros
University of Texas at El Paso Library

Though there were occasional Spanish explorations into the San Luis Valley beginning in the late 16^th century, the first Hispanic settlement here did not occur until 1851, when the town of San Luis was established.

In 1598, part of the Juan de Oñate expedition entered the San Luis Valley, probably the first European people to set foot here. In a ceremony that year, Oñate proclaimed the entire Rio Grande watershed as Spanish territory.

However, Oñate and his contingent were brutal to Indigenous people of the region, even in the eyes of Spain’s King Philip III, who banished Oñate from the region after hearing news of the Acoma Massacre and other atrocities. Oñate returned to Spain for the remainder of his life.

New Mexico Territorial Governor Don Diego de Vargas and his soldiers briefly stayed in the valley in 1694. They saw and hunted a herd of 500 bison before returning to Santa Fe, documenting the historic presence of bison here.

In 1776, Juan Bautista de Anza II and a large group of men on horseback passed near the dunes during a punitive raid against the Comanche people. They killed Comanche leader ‘Cuerno Verde’ (Greenhorn) and other Comanches in the Wet Mountains before returning to Santa Fe. The highest mountain in this range is named Greenhorn Mountain after the slain leader.

While none of the Spanish explorers mention the dunes in their writings, this massive dunefield at the base of the mountains was likely a landmark for them in an unfamiliar place.