Brief by Central Staff
Local History – February 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine
If you’re a regular reader of this magazine, you know about Anza Day, an event we help put on in Poncha Springs to honor the first written account of Central Colorado.
That was the 1779 campaign by Juan Bautista de Anza, governor of Spanish province of New Mexico, against the Jupe Comanche. Anza left Santa Fé that August, ventured north into the San Luis Valley, then over Poncha Pass and eventually to South Park before arriving at the plains and a battle with the Comanche in the area of Greenhorn Peak.
Anza’s contributions to American history extend well beyond this area (he founded the presidio that became San Francisco, Calif.), and every year, there’s a gathering of scholars and history buffs — the Anza World Conference.
This year’s conference is scheduled for Sept. 1-3 in Pueblo, with the hope that by the time it starts, local archæologists will have finally found the exact site of the battle between Anza and the Comanche Chief Cuerno Verde (Greenhorn).
If you want to help, contribute, participate, or get more information, contact Dr. Wilfred Martinez at 719-561-0585, or email to wmartinez1435@cs.com.
