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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Pagosa Springs (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Pagosa Springs. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Pagosa Springs ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Pagosa Springs: Pagosa Spgs. (or less commonly used: Pagosa Spngs. or Pagosa Sprngs.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Pagosa Springs is located in Archuleta County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Colorado's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Archuleta County: Conejos, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Rio Grande, Rio Arriba (NM) & San Juan (NM).

Below are the counties that are near Pagosa Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pagosa Springs:

  • Archuleta County     (The home county of Pagosa Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pagosa Springs, with the one closest to Pagosa Springs listed first.
    • Trujillo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trujillo
      • Trujillo is located in Archuleta County
    • Chimney Rock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chimney Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimney Rock
      • Chimney Rock is located in Archuleta County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chimney Rock <2>
    • Juanita ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juanita
      • Juanita is located in Archuleta County
    • Gato
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gato. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gato
      • Gato is located in Archuleta County
    • Chromo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chromo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chromo
      • Chromo is located in Archuleta County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chromo <2>
    • Arboles
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Conejos County
    • Platoro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platoro
      • Platoro is located in Conejos County
  • La Plata County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pagosa Springs, with the one closest to Pagosa Springs listed first.
    • Allison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison
      • Allison is located in La Plata County
    • Bayfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayfield
      • Bayfield is located in La Plata County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,586 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bayfield <2>
    • Vallecito
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Mineral County
    • Spar City ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spar City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spar City
      • Spar City is located in Mineral County
  • Rio Grande County
    • Summitville ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summitville
      • Summitville is located in Rio Grande County
  • Rio Arriba County (NM)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pagosa Springs, with the one closest to Pagosa Springs listed first.
    • Navajo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Navajo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo
      • Navajo is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)
    • Dulce
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Lumberton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumberton
      • Lumberton is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)
    • Monero
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monero
      • Monero is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pagosa Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Pagosa Springs.

Cemeteries Near Pagosa Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pagosa Springs.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pagosa Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pagosa Springs, with the one closest to Pagosa Springs listed first.

  • Hilltop Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hilltop Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hilltop Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Pagosa Springs.
    • The Hilltop Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pagosa Springs Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57341 <4>
  • Eoff Ranch Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • White Ranch Family Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Ranch Family Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the White Ranch Family Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<5> to the west of Pagosa Springs.
    • The White Ranch Family Cemetery has also been known as:
    • White Spring Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2484263 <4>
  • Altura Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Trujillo Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • McCoy Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCoy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCoy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pagosa Juction Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Juanita Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Carracas Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carracas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carracas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Martinez Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martinez Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Martinez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wirt Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wirt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wirt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gomez Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gomez Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gomez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Rosa Cemetery
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Pagosa Springs had a population of 227 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Pagosa Springs had a population of 2,132 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Pagosa Springs, with the one closest to Pagosa Springs listed first.

  • Piedra
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piedra have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedra
    • Piedra is located in Archuleta County
  • Juanita ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juanita
    • Juanita is located in Archuleta County
  • Chromo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chromo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chromo
    • Chromo is located in Archuleta County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chromo <2>
  • Carracas
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carracas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carracas
    • Carracas is located in Archuleta County
  • Navajo
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Navajo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo
    • Navajo is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)
  • Dulce
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Amargo
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amargo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amargo
    • Amargo is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)
  • Arboles
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Monero
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monero
    • Monero is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)
  • Summitville ‑ Historic
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summitville
    • Summitville is located in Rio Grande County
  • Rosa ‑ Historic
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
    • Rosa is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)
  • Platoro
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platoro
    • Platoro is located in Conejos County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pagosa Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pagosa Springs.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Pagosa Springs ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pagosa Springs.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Pagosa Springs. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Pagosa Springs and those printed in the larger area surrounding Pagosa Springs.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Pagosa Springs.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Pagosa Springs:

The official website for Pagosa Springs: www.townofpagosasprings.com/

The official website for Archuleta County: www.archuletacounty.org/

The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Pagosa Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pagosa Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2724, Longitude: -107.0447       In this case, the coordinates for Pagosa Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Pagosa Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025