Beginning in the 1500’s Spanish colonists journeyed up the Rio Grande Valley and established settlements and mission churches along the way. There were several mission churches including the San Miguel Mission in Socorro, the oldest Catholic Church in the United States, as well as churches in Riley, Florida, San Acacia, La Joyita, Alamillo, Polvadera, Bosquecito, Lemitar, Sabino, La Parida, El Tajo, Luis Lopez, San Antonio, San Antonito, San Marcial, La Plaza Vieja, Magdalena, Kelly and more.
Several of these missions are still in existence today, while others remain remnants of the past locked away in the Ghost Towns of our region. Read more about these missions in following articles written by Socorro County Historian Paul Harden:
Mission Churches in Socorro County – Part I
Mission Churches in Socorro County – Part II
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- San Miguel Mission in Socorro
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- San Lorenzo Mission in Polvadera
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- San Antonio Mission in Alamillo
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- La Sagrada Familia Mission in Lemitar
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- San Jose Mission in Luis Lopez
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- San Antonio Mission in San Antonio
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- St. Mary Magdalene Mission in Magdalena
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- St. John the Baptist in Kelly
