VALLEY — The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area with a substantial $43,000 grant from the National Park Service and in partnership with History Colorado Preservation Planning Unit will be able to increase representation of the San Luis Valley and its Hispanic heritage in the National Register of Historic Places.

The grant funds will be used to hire a consultant to prepare nominations to the National Register of Historic Places for four properties in the San Luis Valley area. The four properties have been selected and are awaiting approval, History Colorado anticipates research and recordation to begin later this summer.

“With a backdrop of the imposing Sangre de Cristo mountain range, the San Luis Valley—now largely overlaid by the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area in Conejos, Costilla, and Alamosa counties—features thriving early Hispanic cultural traditions and practices, including language, architecture, and crafts,” stated National and State Register Coordinator Astrid Liverman. “Designation can celebrate the stories of the Valley and complement regional heritage tourism.”

This grant is through the National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities program, which provides support for the designation, inventory, and survey of historic properties that have an association with communities that are underrepresented in the National Register of Historic Places.

This grant complements the History Colorado Heritage Diversity Initiative, which seeks to crowdsource information on historic buildings and resources related to Colorado’s African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, LGBTQ, Women’s, and Urban American Indian history, with the goal of getting more of these significant places listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

This grant it also in line with the goals of the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area to preserve and protect the unique cultural heritage of the San Luis Valley.

For more information about the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area visit their website at sdcnha.org