One Land, Many Hands: The Story of the Sangre De Cristo Land Grant

Grantees

William Gilpin was the first Territorial Governor of Colorado. When he bought the Sangre de Cristo Land grant acreage from Beaubien in 1863, he promised to allow the settlers to continue living on their land, and give them full access and privileges afforded them while Beaubien owned the land. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he failed to keep his promise.


An advertisement soliciting Dutch Settlers	A photo of the land.	A letter from the US Freehold Company	A map of Costilla Estates

Gilpin hired geologists to hunt for gold, silver or anything of value in the land. When mining didn’t pan out, he brought in foreign investors and Dutch settlers. Failing at that, he divided the land and sold the southern half to Costilla Estates.