The Socorro Land Grant was founded over 200 years ago. Families descended from the original Spanish colonists of New Mexico bravely founded this new community in the Rio Abajo. Among them were descendants of the Baca family who arrived in New Mexico in 1600. They continued the legacy of their grandmothers and grandfathers who struggled to find a footing in this harsh environment. Beginning in the late Spanish period of the Kingdom of New Mexico, they lived in the first decades of the Mexican experiment, through the territorial period of the United States, and throughout statehood to the present day. Their resilience continues with their present progeny. These are the first stories of the families of the Socorro Land Grant.