The village is located in the upper Pecos River valley and was founded in 1824 by settlers from Villanueva, 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) upstream.

Its prominence is due to the isolation of the village from major transportation routes and population centers and its Hispanic culture.

[3][4] Prior to 1786, when a peace treaty was concluded with the Comanches, Spanish settlements in New Mexico were confined to the Rio Grande Valley and nearby.

The reduced threat from the Comanches, the most numerous and dangerous of the Indian peoples surrounding the New Mexican settlements, permitted the expansion of the Spanish eastward toward the Great Plains.

El Cerrito was one of the settlements founded in the Pecos River Valley in the San Miguel del Vado Land Grant, a 315,000 acres (127,000 ha) area the New Mexican government gave to individuals and families in exchange for their commitment to take up residence on the frontier of the Spanish settlements.