Costilla County comprises an area of 1700 square miles. Major river drainages include Ute Creek, Sangro de Cristo Creek, Trinchera River, Vallejo Creek, Seco Creek, Culebra River, and Rio Costilla River.
The first settlement occurred at Costilla in the southern part of the county. Charles Barbeau, a French Canadian, was the representative of the grantee of this land.
San Luis, located on the Culebra River, was settled around 1850. Another settlement was initiated by T. T. Tobin on the Trinchera Estate, about four miles from the town of Fort Garland.
The United States government built Fort Massachusetts around 1850, but it was abandoned by the late 1850s. Fort Garland, several miles south of Fort Massachusetts, was erected soon after the abandonment.
In the 1870s, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad was built over Veta Pass and Garland City arose. It was located about eight miles east of Fort Garland.
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