Suzanne Sims Forrest

Century of Faith Suzanne Sims Forrest

First published in 1995 to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the 1894 founding of Las Placitas Presbyterian Church, this second edition of the award-winning history book has been significantly revamped to include additional information. Timeline Histories of the Church, Las Huertas Valley, and Las Placitas will aid the reader in following the chronological order of events in the Sandia Mountains region of New Mexico. Rather than being limited to the one hundred years of the Church's history, Century of Faith actually covers over 200 years, making the Placitas area one of the best documented communities in New Mexico. It begins with prehistoric settlements of the Las Huertas Valley, followed by the advent of the Spanish explorers and settlers. It then describes the struggle for the land between the settlers of Spain's 1768 San Antonio de Las Huertas Land Grant and outsiders concerned solely with obtaining mineral rights. After 1850, the seeds of Presbyterianism developed in this exclusively Catholic region, and Las Placitas Presbyterian Church was founded in 1894. The subsequent history is emblematic of the challenges experienced by many small isolated communities as they were confronted by technological advances in the 1800s and 1900s, young men going off to fight in WWI and WWII, and other outside influences destined to bring about changes both welcome and unwelcome-especially including, in this specific region, an influx of non-Spanish speaking people (hippies and other gringos). Century of Faith is a welcome documentation of the local history for those with ties to the broader Placitas area. It is also of interest to a broader audience as a highly readable source to help those new to or otherwise interested in the region obtain a better understanding of the unique history of the Placitas area in specific and New Mexico in general.