Attractions (in subcategory: Churches and Schools)

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church is the oldest parish in Colorado. Meeting in a temporary space in 1856, the parish designation was granted in 1859. Construction of the original church commenced in 1863 and was completed in 1866. Though the exterior was renovated between 1879 and 1881, Theatine priests updated the interior and added stained glass windows in 1921. On Ash Wednesday of 1926 an electrical fire destroyed the church, leaving walls and towers. The adobe towers were razed in 1948 and replaced with the contemporary brick entrance.

Experience the beauty of the Rio Culebra landscape and the accomplished local skill that created this awe-inspiring devotional site. Overlooking San Luis is the shrine of "La Mesa de la Piedad y de la Misericordia" (Hill of Piety and Mercy). Constructed in 1986, two centerpieces celebrate Colorado's newest Catholic shrine, La Capilla de Todos Los Santos (the Chapel of All Saints) and bronze sculptures depicting the Stations of the Cross. As visitors climb the half-mile trail they can view fifteen bronze sculptures of Christ's passion and resurrection and experience the magnificent adobe Capilla at the top of the mesa.

A schoolhouse was often one of the first attempts of an early community to establish itself as a permanent settlement. The Crestone schoolhouse, part of the Crestone walking tour, will give you a real sense of community life around the turn of the 20th century. The originally board and batten structure housed grades 1-8 in 1880, and a second classroom and clapboard siding was added in 1901. It was an active school until 1949 after the school district was consolidated with Moffat. The schoolhouse was added to the National Historic Register in 1986 and is now used as a community center.

Little Shepherd in the Hills Episcopal Church is the oldest spiritual center in Crestone, having been a presence since 1885. You can enter at any time for a moment of quiet contemplation, to admire the simple altar or marble baptismal fount, or attend service on the first Sunday of every month. Originally, services were held in the old schoolhouse and were presided over by a circuit vicar. The current location is a log cabin built in the 1900s and donated to the Diocese in 1949. The chapel is dedicated to Lady Julian of Norwich, a 14th-century English mystic.

In remote locations you will discover devotional architectural treasures from some of the earliest Hispano settlements in the San Luis Valley. Built early in the 1860s, the Mission of San Acacio is the oldest standing church in Colorado. Constructed with 24-inch adobe walls the mission underwent extensive restoration during the 1990s. In addition to stabilizing the foundation several wooden columns were added to the interior to take the weight of the roof off of the fragile walls. An altar screen, or retablo, was commissioned from Maria Romero Cash, a New Mexican artist specializing in religious folk art.