Capilla de San Juan Bautista (Church of Saint John the Baptist)

Located in La Garita in the northwestern San Luis Valley, Capilla de San Juan Bautista was built in 1924–26 as a Catholic mission church. An earlier church had served as the area’s parish church from 1879 to 1895, but burned down in 1924. The current building, on the same site, replaced the earlier structure. The church was abandoned in the 1960s. It was then used by a local women’s craft cooperative called Artes del Valle (Arts of the Valley). It was restored in the 2000s as part of the San Juan Catholic Spiritual Center.

A Parish Church in La Garita

In 1851 Hispano settlers pushed north from New Mexico towns into the western San Luis Valley. They established the first permanent settlements at Guadalupe along the Conejos River. From there, settlements gradually extended farther north. In 1858 settlers established the town of La Garita (The Lookout). By 1870, this town had the most northerly worship space in the valley. It was a morada, or a worship space that had not been consecrated.

By then, a growing number of Catholic settlers were streaming into the valley. A series of treaties had removed the Southern Ute Indians. Church leaders decided a new parish was needed. It would serve communities far north of Conejos, where the existing parish was headquartered. La Garita was selected as the site of the new parish church, rectory, and cemetery. These were built on land donated by Jose Julian Espinosa and his wife, Rufina Montoya.

The church was named for San Juan Bautista. It was dedicated on June 24, 1879, Saint John the Baptist’s feast day. The church served as the parish church until 1895. At that time, the parish headquarters moved to Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in Del Norte. San Juan Bautista became a mission church served by traveling priests from Del Norte. A group of nuns called the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross started to use the former rectory as a residence when they came to teach in the area.

Building a New Church

In 1924 the church burned to the ground. Construction on a replacement started later that year. Completed in 1926, the new Capilla de San Juan Bautista was a Territorial Adobe structure that resembled the previous church. It had twenty-inch-thick adobe walls with a white stucco coating. It was topped by a gabled roof with a central two-story bell tower and distinctive six-armed cross. The building’s arched windows showed Gothic Revival influences. Inside, the church had stucco walls, wood floors, and a stamped-metal ceiling.

Capilla de San Juan Bautista was used regularly until the 1960s, when it was abandoned. It stood vacant for several years and fell into disrepair. In 1973 it was taken over by Artes del Valle, a local women’s craft cooperative, which used the building to sell its products. By that time, the adjacent adobe rectory had largely collapsed and had only a few walls still standing. The cooperative worked to get the church listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and secured State Historical Fund grants in the 1990s for renovations to the building. After Artes del Valle closed in the early 2000s, Capilla de San Juan Bautista was vacant again.

Today

In 2007 Father Joseph Vigil of the San Juan Catholic Community led an effort to revitalize the historic Capilla de San Juan Bautista. As a result of his leadership and significant donations from the Archuleta and Kulp families, in 2009 the church started to be restored as part of the San Juan Catholic Spiritual Center. In addition to the church, the spiritual center includes the San Juan Bautista Monument (built in 2009 using a surviving wall from the property’s old adobe rectory), the St. John Paul II Rosary Walk, and the historic Carnero Creek Cemetery. The monument, Rosary Walk, and cemetery are open every day. The church is used to celebrate Mass on the Feast of Saint John the Baptist in June and the Feast of the Archangels in September.

Capilla de San Juan Bautista was built in 1924–26 as a Catholic mission church. It is located in La Garita in the northwestern San Luis Valley. An earlier church had served as the area’s parish church from 1879 to 1895 but burned down in 1924. The current building, on the same site, replaced the earlier structure. The church was abandoned in the 1960s. It was then used by a local women’s craft cooperative called Artes del Valle (Arts of the Valley). It was restored in the 2000s as part of the San Juan Catholic Spiritual Center.

A Parish Church in La Garita

In 1851 Hispano settlers pushed north from New Mexico towns. They settled in Colorado’s western San Luis Valley. The first permanent villages were established at Guadalupe along the Conejos River. From there, they gradually extended farther north. In 1858 settlers established La Garita (The Lookout). By 1870 the town had the most northerly worship space in the valley. It was known as a morada—a worship space that had not been consecrated.

A growing number of Catholic settlers were streaming into the valley. A series of treaties had removed the Southern Ute Indians. The treaties opened the San Juan Mountains to mining and settlement. Church leaders decided a new parish was needed. It would serve communities far north of Conejos, where the existing parish was headquartered. La Garita was selected as the site of the new parish church, rectory, and cemetery. These were built on land donated by Jose Julian Espinosa and his wife, Rufina Montoya.

The church was named for San Juan Bautista. It was dedicated on June 24, 1879, the Feast day of Saint John the Baptist. The church served as the parish church until 1895. At that time, the parish headquarters moved to Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in Del Norte. San Juan Bautista became a mission church served by traveling priests from Del Norte. The group of nuns called the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross started to use the former rectory as a residence when they came to teach in the area.

Building a New Church

In 1924 the church burned to the ground. Construction on a replacement started later that year. Completed in 1926, the new Capilla de San Juan Bautista resembled the previous church. The style is considered to be Territorial Adobe. White stucco coated the twenty-inch-thick adobe walls. The gabled roof was topped by a central two-story bell tower and distinctive six-armed cross. The building’s arched windows showed Gothic Revival influences. Inside, the church had stucco walls, wood floors, and a stamped-metal ceiling.

Capilla de San Juan Bautista was used regularly until the 1960s. It then stood vacant for several years and fell into disrepair. In 1973 it was taken over by Artes del Valle, a local women’s cooperative. They used the building to display and sell their craft products. By that time, the adjacent adobe rectory had largely collapsed. Only a few walls were still standing. In 1980 the cooperative worked to get the church listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It secured State Historical Fund grants in the 1990s for renovations to the building. After Artes del Valle closed in the early 2000s, the church was vacant again.

Today

In 2007 Father Joseph Vigil led an effort to revitalize Capilla de San Juan Bautista.

His leadership, and donations from the Archuleta and Kulp families, led to the start of restoration in 2009. The church is now part of the San Juan Catholic Spiritual Center. This center also includes the San Juan Bautista Monument, the St. John Paul II Rosary Walk, and the historic Carnero Creek Cemetery. The monument, Rosary Walk, and cemetery are open every day. The Feast of St. John the Baptist in June and the Feast of the Archangels in September are celebrated with a mass at the church.

Capilla de San Juan Bautista is a Catholic mission church. It was built in 1924 – 26. It is located in La Garita in the northwestern San Luis Valley. The church was later abandoned in the 1960s. It was then used by Artes del Valle (Arts of the Valley), a women’s craft group. In the 2000s, the church was restored. It is now part of the San Juan Catholic Spiritual Center.

A Parish Church in La Garita

In the 1850s Hispano settlers moved north from New Mexico towns. They settled in Colorado’s western San Luis Valley. In 1858 settlers started the town of La Garita (The Lookout). By 1870 the town had a morada, a worship space that had not been declared sacred. The morada in La Garita was the farthest north in the valley.

More Catholics were moving to the valley. Treaties had removed the Southern Ute Indians. The treaties also opened the San Juan Mountains to mining and settlement. Church leaders needed a new parish that would serve the northern part of the valley. La Garita was selected as the site. It would have a new parish church and cemetery. It would also have a rectory, a home for priests.

The church was named for San Juan Bautista. It was dedicated on June 24, 1879. This is the Feast day of Saint John the Baptist. It served as the parish church until 1895. Then the parish headquarters moved. San Juan Bautista became a mission church. It was served by traveling priests from Del Norte. A group of nuns called Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross started to use the former rectory. They stayed there when they came to teach.

Building a New Church

In 1924 the church burned to the ground. Work to replace the church began that year. It was completed in 1926. White stucco coated the thick adobe walls. Its roof had a gable. It was topped by a central two-story bell tower and unusual six-armed cross. Inside, the church had stucco walls and wood floors. Its ceiling was stamped-metal.

Capilla de San Juan Bautista was used until the 1960s. Then it stood vacant for several years. It needed repair. In 1973 it was taken over by Artes del Valle. This women’s group sold crafts in the building. By then, the rectory was mostly fallen down. Only a few walls were still standing. In 1980 the women’s cooperative worked hard to restore the building. They got the church listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But when Artes del Valle closed in the early 2000s, the church was vacant again.

Today

In 2007 Father Joseph Vigil got involved. He wanted to restore Capilla de San Juan Bautista. The Archuleta and Kulp families gave money. Father Vigil provided leadership. Work started in 2009. The church is now part of the San Juan Catholic Spiritual Center. This center also has a rosary walk and cemetery. Mass is celebrated at the church in June for the Feast of Saint John the Baptist. It is also celebrated in September for the Feast of the Archangels.