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.
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(Thanks to Marilu Waybourn for help with this
account.)
About the USGenWeb Project: |
 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.
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San Juan
County, New Mexico
