The Atrisco Land Grant (merced) of 1692 is one among many Spanish land grants in New Mexico. It is in the the Atrisco Valley (Valle de Atrisco) in the vicinity of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The grant was established during the New World expansion of the Spanish Empire, as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Nueva España). Out of hundreds of land grants, Spain made only a few during the Spanish (1598-1821) period of rule, while the remainder were made by Mexico (1821-1826)[1] following the Mexican War of Independence. The Atrisco land was given to an individual, with the intention to found a settlement, while other grants were made to individuals, or to communal groups establishing settlements, or to Pueblos for communal lands that were already in their possession, such as the Pueblos of Sandia to the north of Atrisco, and Isleta to the south. Other nearby land grants included the Elena Gallegos to the east, created in 1694 for Diego Montoya and where much of northern Albuquerque is now built; the Alameda, granted in 1710 to Francisco Montes Vigil to the north and extending west of the Rio Grande; the Carnuel made to the residents of Cañon de Carnué (Tijeras Canyon) to the east; and the Parajito to the south.
In 1598 under order of King Philip II of Spain, Don Juan de Oñate traveled northward on El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (utilized for trade among native tribes from the earliest of times) fording the Rio Grande, or Río del Norte, at the present-day El Paso and claiming all of the northern frontier beyond the river for colonization by Spain. By the early 1600s Spanish agricultural units dotted the 27 miles of previously unsettled Rio Grande Valley between the Sandia and Isleta Pueblos and in 1632 a Spanish settlement was on the site of present day Old Town in Albuquerque,[2] where in 1706 the Villa de Albuquerque was established, to include a presidio (military garrison).
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 resulted in the expulsion of Spanish settlers south to El Paso. In 1688 Diego de Vargas was appointed Spanish Governor of the New Spain territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México and arrived to assume his duties in 1691. With a converted Zia war captain and only six soldiers, seven cannon, and a Franciscan priest, he recaptured Santa Fe in 1692 by convincing the Native Americans to except clemency and protection in exchange for sworn allegiance. He had taken 12 other towns in a similar manner and proclaimed a formal act of repossession to complete the "bloodless" Reconquest (Reconquista). Although two more major uprisings were to occur, including Second Pueblo Revolt attempt of 1696, the Spanish were again in control of their settlements.
Fernando Duran y Chaves II was one of the New Mexicans of the volunteer army contributing to this successful campaign, and in 1692 received from de Vargas, on the condition that Don Fernando be one of the settlers and that the land be properly developed, a 41,533 acre grant extending west of the Rio Grande, in the area where Fernando's father, Don Pedro had lived prior to the Pueblo Revolt. Having met the conditions of the grant, Durán y Chaves gained formal possession of the land in 1703.[3] In 1768, the land grant was expanded by 25,958 acres further west and over the escarpment to the Rio Puerco, in order to accommodate the increasing Atrisco population, now greater than 200.[4] However, due to Apache and Navajo attacks much of the land could not be utilized safely for grazing, and the Atrisqueños were forced to stay near the Río Grande valley until the nineteenth century. With the the defeat of the Navajo at Armijo Lake in 1864, the security of the increased pasture lands was finally obtained.[5]
At the close of the Mexican–American War in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, and New Mexico officially became a territory of the United States. Article VIII of the Treaty honored existing land grants, ensuring the property rights of Mexican citizens living in the transferred territories. However, despite these assurances, through interpretation and modifications of the Treaty, the property rights of Mexican citizens were often not honored.[6][7] In 1854 the U.S. Congress established the office of the Surveyor General of New Mexico to ascertain "the origin, nature, character, and extent to all claims to lands under the laws, usages, and customs of Spain and Mexico." In 1886 surveyor general George Washington Julian recommended approval of the Atrisco grant claims submitted by lawyers representing 150 Atrisco residents. But in 1887, the Commissioner of the General Land Office of the Department of Interior rejected the request citing an incomplete listing of legal heirs, lack of evidence for both the original grant and for the continued occupation of the lands, and insufficiency of boundary details.[8]
Congress had tried to deal with each New Mexico land grant by special bill and the House had formed a Committee on Private Land Claims, seats on which were sought after as a way of dispensing patronage. By 1880 the corruption[9] inherent in determining these claims by politics rather than on a legal basis forced an end to this practice.[10] The United States Court of Private Land Claims was created in 1891 to adjudicate the land claims under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Although in its 13 years of adjudication, only 82 of 282 New Mexico cases were confirmed[11] and only 10% of the land claimed in 300 total cases was retained by claimants, under this process the Atrisqueños gained permanent possession of their land. After forming a community land grant corporation (the Town of Atrisco) of the 225 heirs in 1892, both Atrisco land grants were confirmed in 1894[12] by the United States Court of Private Land Claims.
In 1935 James M. Hubbell filed suit to determine all legal heirs for respective benefits and entitled shares of the land grant corporation. As assigned, the court-appointed referee J. G. Whitehouse compiled a list of present heirs and respective fractional “shares” based upon the corrected list of the original incorporators for of Town of Atrisco. His report was filed in 1936 and approved by the district court judge. Later, other petitions appeared, requiring supplementary reports and amendments. The last petition under James M. Hubbell v. Town of Atrisco was in 1952.[13]
In 1967 Westland Development Co. Inc. was formed to represent the interests the land grant heirs as stock holders, and submitted the articles of incorporation and bylaws to a mass meeting of the heirs who voted 583 to 528 in its favor. The Board of Trustees of the Town of Atrisco refused to transfer title to grant lands until overruled by the Supreme Court of New Mexico in 1969.[14]
The company foresees that the land will be very profitable for it stock holders in the future, since the growing population of Albuquerque is restricted from growth to the north and east by Pueblo lands, and by mountains to the east. In 1990, Barbara Page (Gallegos), president and chief executive officer of Westland stated that "We're going to be a very aggressive developer in the west end of the city."[15]