[1] 1598- During Juan de Oñate's expedition from Mexico, following the Rio Grande del Norte north, he claimed all of the river's drainage for Spain.
[2] 1694- The New Mexico governor Diego de Vargas traveled to present-day Colorado, following the Rio Grande to a tributary, Culebra Creek.
Led by friars Silvestre Velez de Escalante and Francisco Atanacio Dominguez, the expedition team sought a route linking Santa Fe to Monterey.
[5] 1787- Juan Bautista de Anza established the settlement of San Carlos near present-day Pueblo, Colorado, but it quickly failed.
[6] The Maxwell Land Grant is acquired, extending from the Sangre de Cristo Range to as far south as Taos, New Mexico, including modern day Las Animas County.
1880's- Mexican migration even gave rise to a Hispanic neighborhood in the modern-day "America the Beautiful Park" in Colorado Springs, which included a school, a church and several businesses.
[2] 1990 to Present - The Hispanic population grows significantly, consisting of mostly Mexicans, seeking better social and economic conditions.
[2] According to the Latino Leadership Institute website, Hispanics number more than 100,000 people in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver and El Paso.
They represented over 33% in Adams, Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Huerfano, Las Animas, Morgan, Otero, Prowers, Pueblo, Rio Grande and Saguache counties.