History

Badito, located at the crossing of the Huerfano River, marks a path used by the Ancient Pueblo Peoples

Ancient Pueblo Peoples

Ancient Pueblo People or Ancestral Pueblo peoples were an ancient Native American culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the United States, comprising southern Utah, northern Arizona, northwest New Mexico, and southern Colorado...

 during the Basketmaker

Basketmaker (culture)

The Basketmaker culture of the Ancient Pueblo People began about 1500 BC and continued until about AD 500 with the beginning of the Pueblo I Era...

 era.

A Spanish expedition led by General Juan de Ulibarri is the first known recorded journey through Badito. He documented the journey through Cuchara Pass, west of the Spanish Peaks

Spanish Peaks

The Spanish Peaks are a pair of volcanic mountains located in southwestern Huerfano County, Colorado. The Ute indians named them Huajatolla , meaning "two breasts". The Spanish name translates as "Breasts of the Earth". The two peaks, West Spanish Peak and East Spanish Peak, are the easternmost...

 in 1706. Juan de Ulibarri's command reached the Rio de San Juan Baptista (currently named the Huerfano River) at Badito.

In 1819, Jacob Fowler noted an abandoned Spanish adobe fort at the location.

Later, the Taos Trappers Trail, joining the Santa Fe Trail with the Cherokee Trail, passed through this location. In 1867, as part of the U.S. Territories, Badito became the Huerfano County seat. Later the county seat was moved to Walsenburg.