Churches
Respectfully Submitted by Pat Romero
Apishapa Valley Chapel was known for many years as the Community Presbyterian Church of Aguilar. In 1906 the “little white church” on Romero St. in Aguilar was built by the American Methodist Church Organization. Membership flourished and many community functions were held at the church. After the closing of local mines, membership declined and the church was initiated into the United Presbyterian Church family. It was briefly under the ownership of The First Christian Church of Trinidad, Colorado and then returned to the United Presbyterian Church of Trinidad dba Apishapa Valley Chapel. A small congregation has persevered to keep this historic church a part of the community.
“Just as Aguilar refused to become another Colorado ‘ghost town’, so also did the ‘little white church in Aguilar’ refuse to give up.
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St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church was built as the Parraquia de San Antonio as early as 1875 as a Mission of Trinidad Holy Trinity Parish. It was located on land donated by Francisco Gonzales & his wife Maria Donasciana Gonzales when the town was known as San Antonio. The building was 75 ft long, 25 ft. wide at the entrance which faced east toward the Apishapa River and made of adobe. The earliest priests came by horse and buggy with the people donating grain for the horses and it was heated by one pot bellied stove in the center of the church.
On January 8, 1902 Bersabe Lopez Aguilar, wife of Jose Ramon Aguilar donated property to the church in the original plat for the Town of Aguilar, lots 5 and 6, Block 4. The construction of the present day St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church was not started until 1920. It is believed the location was next to the original adobe church. It was completed in 1922 and built of stone cut from the area surrounding the Empire Mine west of the town. Much of the construction was done by locals and still in use by the community.
In 2004 a much needed restoration of this historic church was completed and it was placed on the Town of Aguilar List of Historic Properties.
