La Loma de San José, first permanent settlement in Rio Grande County, sat on a terraced slope at the south edge of the Rio Grande's flood plain.   The 14 founding  families referred to the site of their new home as plaza del alta (high village). Theynamed the hill directly behind their village in honor of their patron saint--La Loma de San José (Saint Joseph).  The term "Loma" described in general the hilly country that marked the northern boundary of the Guadalupe (aka Conejos) land grant.

    Initially given in 1833 by the Mexican government to 50 families, the Guadalupe Grant (or Conejos Grant) encompassed the entire southwestern quadrant of the San Luis Valley.  The volcanic dome known as Cerro de San Antonio marked the southern end of the grant area.  Spanning from the Rio Grande to the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains, the grant domain extended northward into the La Garita Mountains, headwaters to tributaries of the Saguache River.

    Any Mexican citizen of good character could claim a parcel of river frontage or mountain land 200 varas wide. Following Spanish land grant tradition, all water, pasture and timber were held in common for shared use by all.   Family or communal ditches diverted water from streams to fields, but individual water rights did not exist.

    To view the site of La Loma de San José, surrounding landmarks and the Rio Grande countryside, follow U. S Highway 160 approximately 3 miles east of today's Del Norte, Colorado, and look toward the hillside terrace south of the highway.