Colonia Juárez is located in the valley of the Piedras Verdes River on the western edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and beneath the eastern front of the Sierra Madre Occidental.

This colonization was part of the church's larger campaign to establish the State of Deseret while evading the anti-polygamy Edmunds Act of 1882.

The Mexican Revolution resulted in the exodus of many colonists from the region; some left permanently while others returned after a few years.

Many families of all backgrounds sent women and children to the United States or Europe during the Revolution; others left completely.

One of the last battles of the final phase of the Revolution was fought just outside Casas Grandes; several colonists participated in rescuing the wounded and caring for them at the old hacienda known in the histories as "El Refugio," earning the gratitude of the Revolutionary Government.