Felipe Baca

Luis Felipe de Jesús Baca (1828–1874) was an American farmer, rancher, and politician. He founded the city of Trinidad in the state of Colorado. Baca County, Colorado is named for him.

Founder of Trinidad Baca used to travel to Denver and Santa Fe to sell his produce. In 1860, when he was transporting a shipment of flour, he came across a fertile valley beside the Purgatoire River. Back home, he examined the land's potential for farming and grazing. In the fall of that year, he and his family moved to that valley, reclaiming a portion of the lowlands and waiting for spring to plant their first crops.

Harvesting the first crops (mainly melons and grains), he transported them back to Taos to show his neighbors, who quickly perked up. In 1862, 12 families from Taos made their way through Raton Pass to join the Baca family in the new settlement.

Political career After building Trinidad, he became involved in territorial politics. In 1870, he won a seat as a Republican representative in the territorial legislature, which he held for two years. He was against Colorado statehood, believing that the southern part of the state would be dwarfed by Denver. The Anglo majority in the legislature disagreed, and Colorado became a state in 1876.

Legacy In 1889, the state legislature approved the establishment of a tract of land in the southeast corner of the state as Baca County, in honor of Trinidad's founder.