The Baca-Picketwire Ditch

The Baca Ditch was first excavated in late 1861 and was in use by Spring 1862. The ditch is associated with the first water right issued in Colorado Water District 19 (Division 2 Arkansas Basin; May 31, 1861) and was likely the first actual diversion on the Purgatoire River. The ditch was one of the first successful irrigation efforts in the state and was instrumental in the early agricultural development of the larger Trinidad/El Moro region. The ditch was named after and built by  Felipe Baca , a prominent early citizen of Trinidad and the namesake of Baca County, Colorado. The Baca Ditch Company, which owned and operated the Baca Ditch, later consolidated the Northside, Chicosa, and Lujan ditches and became known as the Picketwire Ditch Company, at which point the Baca became known as the Baca-Picketwire or simply Picketwire Ditch. Despite the complicated historical naming conventions (and even more complicated water rights!) the ditch was and still is the agricultural backbone of the area and a central feature of downtown Trinidad, Colorado.

The Baca-Picketwire Ditch diverts water from the Purgatoire River and carries it approximately 14.5 miles north-northeast, through El Moro, Colorado, before depositing the remainder in a small reservoir south of Chicosa Arroyo in Township 31 South / Range 63 West, Section 33.

 Link to Colorado Division of Water Resource Records: 

The map below illustrates the extent of the Baca-Picketwire Ditch from the point of diversion in the Purgatoire River to the outlet near Chicosa Arroyo. The segment recorded by the NRCS is highlighted. Expand the map to full screen to explore the ditch in more detail. Left-click and drag to pan the map; right-click and drag to rotate the map.

Site 5LA.2161.5 is a segment of the Baca-Picketwire Ditch recorded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in 2024. The site consists of approximately 200 meters of earthen ditch measuring approximately 20 feet across and 8 feet deep on average. Portions of the ditch are unlined, while sections of the ditch have been reinforced with repurposed railroad ties and hardware. Repurposed railroad rails also reinforce the southern edge of the southern bank (between the ditch and the river). The headgate inlet to the segment, a set of headgates at the midpoint of the segment, and the outlet from the segment have all been replaced with modern concrete structures - the inlet and outlet within the last few years.  Due to erosion issues in the immediate area, NRCS and the Purgatoire Water Conservation District partnered to line Segment 5 of the Baca-Picketwire Ditch with concrete.

The following is a photographic tour of the Segment 5 and highlights the extent and historical construction methods of the recorded segment of the ditch.

Felipe Baca was a Hispano farmer and sheep rancher from northern New Mexico. Felipe was born in Taos in 1829, and chanced upon the Purgatoire River valley while transporting goods from his hometown of Taos, New Mexico to the Denver mining camp in the Colorado Territory in 1860. Having noticed the agricultural potential of the valley, upon his return to New Mexico, Felipe immediately began preparing to relocate to Colorado. Later that fall, Felipe returned to the Purgatoire River Valley to claim acres in the valley lowland and prepare for a spring plant. Following a successful harvest the following year, Felipe returned to Taos with the fruits of his labor and convinced his family and many of his neighbors to return to Colorado and found the settlement that would become Trinidad, Colorado.

Felipe married María Dolores Gonzáles and had nine children. He was elected to the Colorado territorial legislature in 1870 - only ten years after first moving to Colorado! Felipe Baca died in 1874 in Trinidad, Colorado. His home,  which he purchased for 22,000 pounds of sheep wool , was listed on the  National Register of Historic Places in 1970  and now operates as part of the  Trinidad History Museum .

Revisions to General Engineering Report - Water District 19:  https://archives.colostate.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/2066 

Interstate 25 History - Colorado Department of Transportation:  https://www.codot.gov/about/CDOTHistory/50th-anniversary/interstate-25 

History Colorado - Baca House:  https://www.historycolorado.org/exhibit/baca-house 

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - The Baca A. B. House:  https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/f620e25b-9605-458b-b76b-c45a5866418a 

Colorado Encyclopedia - Don Felipe Baca:  https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/don-felipe-baca