Authors: Richard L. Nostrand
ISBN-13: 9780806135465, ISBN-10: 0806135468
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Date Published: October 2003
Edition: New Edition
El Cerrito, New Mexico captures the essence of a village that, despite cultural and economic disintegration, sparks the passion of a small number of inhabitants who want to keep it alive. Richard L. Nostrand opens a window into the past of the upper Pecos Valley, revealing the daily life of this small, isolated Hispanic village whose population waxes and wanes in the face of family feuds, settlement struggles, and the ever-encroaching modern world.
Nostrand identifies the challenges facing eight generations of families. Utilizing primary sources from government, census, and church records, as well as from burials, homestead documents, and interviews with sixty Cerritenos, Nostrand details village life from its founding in 1824 to the opening years of the twenty-first century. The author weaves historical evidence with physical data from soil analyses, topology, and geology to explain how the land itself shaped life in El Cerrito.
List of Illustrations | ||
List of Maps | ||
List of Tables | ||
Preface | ||
1 | The Land Grant Generation, Circa 1800 | 3 |
2 | The Village Generation, Circa 1825 | 17 |
3 | The Farm Generation, Circa 1850 | 31 |
4 | The Livestock Generation, Circa 1875 | 51 |
5 | The Homestead Generation, Circa 1900 | 69 |
6 | The School Generation, Circa 1925 | 93 |
7 | The Exodus Generation, Circa 1950 | 109 |
8 | The Anglicized Generation, Circa 1975 | 129 |
9 | The Present Generation, Circa 2000 | 147 |
10 | The Next Generation, Circa 2025 | 165 |
App | Population Tables, 1841-1920 | 177 |
Notes | 221 | |
Glossary | 247 | |
Bibliography | 249 | |
Index | 257 |