Oh, little town ...: Spanish for 'Bethlehem,' Belén started as a small agricultural colony in the 1700s

Modern-day Belén grew up alongside the railroad line.

It morphed from a small village with a railroad stop into a town, finally reaching its stride and anointing itself a city in the 1960s.

But to find out how the community about 40 miles south of Albuquerque got its name, one has to travel back to its start as a small agricultural colony in the 1700s.

Spanish settlers captain Don Diego Torres and Antonio Salazar founded Belén in 1740 as a settlement for about 40 families.

The areas' proximity to the Rio Grande and fertile soil made it ideal for establishing roots.

They called it Nuestra Señora de Belén, which means Our Lady of Bethlehem, in honor of the Virgin Mary.

It was not uncommon at that time for the Spanish to assign religious titles to areas they were settling, paying homage to the Catholic Church.

The name was eventually shortened to Belén, the Spanish equivalent of Bethlehem.

The Catholic Church is still the center of life for many Belén families who are members of Our Lady of Belén Catholic Church.

"What a sweet tribute our forefathers gave the Mother of Jesus when they named their town after the birthplace of her son, Jesus," the parish website states. "Our forefather's firm faith and insight has been rewarded a hundred-fold by the blessings our Lady has showered on Our Lady of Belén Parish."

Local historian and a descendant of Belén's pioneer families, Donald A. Chavez y Gilbert discusses Belén's beginning in an article he wrote for the New Mexican Hispanic Culture Preservation League.

Chavez y Gilbert runs the 20-acre Terra Patre Farm in Belén, which was once a part of the 200,000-acre Belén Land Grant.

The grant, according to Chavez y Gilbert, extended south to what is now Bernardo, a small cluster of homes in Socorro County that is about 26 miles from the city of Socorro.

Farming and ranching were the primary way of life Belén's early days.

"To Indian crops like corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, chile, and melons, the Belén colonists added crops such as oats, wheat, and all kinds of fruit trees, as well as European livestock such as sheep, horses, cattle, goats, chickens, and pigs," Chavez y Gilbert writes. "These first settlers built adobe homes with hornos to make bread, which required the use of Spanish yeast. Some of these Spanish settlers continued developing the cowboy, (vaqueros), and ranching industry while others specialized in grand farms."

But it wasn't all about farming and herding.

It was also about protection.

Like many early western settlers, Belén's history is peppered with skirmishes.

The original families faced attacks from local tribes and were responsible for fortifying themselves.

They did this by establishing a military garrison in 1750.

Another enemy would come in the winter of 1862, when the Confederacy took control of Belén.

Four hundred Confederate soldiers occupied the city before finally withdrawing in the summer of 1863.

More than a century later in 1880, the railroad would arrive, transforming the small hamlet into a bustling town.

The railroad brought people, whether it be unloading temporary visitors for food and sight-seeing or depositing new permanent residents.

Belén started to grow and flourish.

Local merchant John Becker was responsible for most of Belén's early commercial and residential planning, laying it out on a grid.

Belén was dubbed "Hub City," a nickname it still claims today.

New mercantile shops sprung up as did hotels and restaurants and other industry.

New Mexico became a state in 1912 and not long after in 1918,

Belén would get its official status as a municipal village.

Officials spent the next four years establishing ordinances, electing its first mayor Bernard Jacobson, hiring a fire chief, a village marshal and a village attorney.

Jacobson established the first tax, built sidewalks, and paved the way for an electric power system.

Gambling and brothels immediately got a red light as did the "immoral dances" of the shimmy, toddle and "face and head dancing."

Belén took on the designation of a town in 1940.

The city has seen its share of ups and downs, especially as the railroad began to decline and automobiles became the transportation of favor.

It finally took on the title of city in 1966 and has seen many industries come and go.

Belén is now a place many stop for food and gas while traveling along Interstate 25 and it's still home to many farmers.

It also has its own school system and its fair share of big box and chain stores alongside local shops and restaurants.

Longtime resident and local historian Jim Sloan, who provided a lot of the historical background for this column, said the city is once again trying to find its stride.

It has many empty storefronts but is experiencing an art renaissance along Becker Avenue.

There are several art galleries and the Belén Art League.

Sloan and retired University of New Mexico-Valencia campus history professor Richard Melzer are cataloging and researching Belén's history.

Both are members of the Valencia County Historical Society. "My stepdad had said something and I think it's true," Sloan said. "Belén was here before any industry was here. It will be here long after."

Historical Belén

Editor's note: The Journal continues "What's in a Name?," a twice a month column in which staff writer Elaine Briseño will give a short history of how places in New Mexico got their names.

Curious about how a town, street or building got its name? Email staff writer Elaine Briseño at ebriseno@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3965 as she continues the monthly journey in "What's in a Name?"