Capilla de Viejo San Acacio - San Acacio, CO
N 37° 12.109 W 105° 30.499
13S E 454891 N 4117382
Part of the Culebra River Villages of Costilla County multiple property submission, this Spanish-American mission is one of the oldest churches in the state.
Waymark Code: WMGPK6
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 03/28/2013
Views: 1
The mission of Viejo San Acacio is a model of the early churches of the Rio Culebra and typical of nineteenth century northern New Mexico village churches. Like the earlier Franciscan plan, Mission San Acacio is an east-facing single nave with 24-inch adobe walls, an indented entry, and lacks a tower incorporated into the fa9ade. Originally constructed with a flat roof, Mission San Acacio once had an over-head transverse clerestory to light the altar, a distinct innovation used in early New Mexico mission architecture. Today, San Acacio is the oldest continually used non-Amerindian religious space in Colorado.
Excerpt from the Culebra River Villages of Costilla County MPS [visit link]
Built in the 1860's, this adobe mission in southern Colorado is considered to be the oldest standing church in the state. The chapel marks the site of an early Hispanic settlement called Viejo San Acacio established in 1853. It is located about 6 miles east of San Luis and 3 miles southeast of the new San Acacio (now practically a ghost town).
Legend has it that the settlement was miraculously saved from a band of Ute warriors. According to the story, the locals prayed to Saint Acacias, a Roman Centurion, to save them. The Indian warriors looked up, pointed to the sky and fled from what they saw as a fierce warrior on a white steed riding down towards them. In an act of faith and gratitude, the church was built on that spot and named after their protecting saint.
Although the church has been renovated to preserve the delicate adobe walls, it stands in virtually the same shape as it did in the 1800's.
Source: The Culebra River Villages of Costilla County, Colorado, San Luis Valley Heritage, "The Legend of Southern Colorado's San Acacio Viejo" by ziyena