This land grant was petitioned by Nicolas Romero and 12 families in 1754. Governor Tomas Velez Cachupin approved the grant for 20,000 acres. Proceedings before the office of Surveyor General and the Court of Private Land Claims confirmed the grant for 14,786 acres. Truchas was one of the first fortified plazas built under Governor Cachupin’s frontier defense policy. As a legal historian, he recognized the defensive advantages of the fortified village and tried to enforce the Spanish laws pertaining to settlements on the northern frontier.
Nuestra Senora del Rosario San Fernando y Santiago is located near the community of Truchas in Rio Arriba County.