San Juan County Information

The history of San Juan County goes back to what is properly called prehistory, in that there was no written record left for us to ponder today. Ancestral Pueblo peoples lived in the area many hundreds of years ago, and have left many ruins as evidence of their occupation. Today, we can visit Salmon Ruins, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and other sites to get a taste of the lives of those early inhabitants.

Early Spanish visits to the area date from around the time of the American Revolution. Friars Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante were seeking a route between Santa Fe and the California missions. However, settlement did not occur to any great degree until 1876, when the area was opened for homesteading.  About 1870, Farmingtown (later, Farmington) was established, and Aztec became an established community soon after.  The county was formed from Rio Arriba County in 1887, and Aztec has been the designated county seat since 1892.

Apple-growing was a major industry in the county's first several decades.   During that period, there were a number of oil and gas booms, with the largest in 1950.   Recreation is also a major industry for the area, with three rivers (La Plata, Animas, and San Juan), nearby high mountains, wilderness areas, and the aforementioned ruins, among other opportunities.

(Thanks to Marilu Waybourn for help with this account.)

In March and April of 1996, a group of genealogists organized the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database Project. The idea was to provide a single entry point for all counties in Kentucky, where collected databases would be stored. In addition, the databases would be indexed and cross-linked, so that, even if individuals were found in more than one county, they could be located in the index.

At the same time, volunteers were found who were willing to coordinate the collection of databases  and generally oversee the contents of the web page.
In June, as the Kentucky project was nearing completion, it was decided to start a page for each of the remaining states, and, as with the Kentucky project, volunteers were found to host the state pages.
I encourage all those doing research in this county to become involved in the program. Your help will be most welcome. Your help toward disseminating genealogical information about this county and others is needed and will be appreciated. Please E-mail me with articles, broken links, photos, resource lists, etc.