Juan Candelaria recalled Los Padillas being settled in 1710 (Armijo 1929:280-281). It appeared in the 1802 census (Olmsted 1981:142-143).
Wislizenus mentioned this as a hacienda south of Alburquerque on 19 July 1846. He was on the east side of the Río Grande, and noted that the more verdant west bank contained many ranchos and haciendas, among them one called Padillas (Wislizenus 1848:35). On November, 22 1846 the army unit which included Marcellus Ball Edwards came in from a campaign against the Navajo and reached Los Padillas, where they stayed at the house of José Chávez (Bieber 1936:211).
Given that the Chávez family resided at Los Padillas, this was probably the “Chávez or Padillas” listed in an 1822 register of New Mexico settlements (Bloom 1913:14).
1710
The history of Spanish settlement at Los Padillas extends back to the seventeenth century. Its use as a paraje was increased in the nineteenth century when more travelers began using the road along the west bank of the Río Grande.
Courtesy U.S. Department of the Interior. El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, Comprehensive Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement. Santa Fe, NM: National Park Service/Bureau of Land Management,2004.