Gonzales Farmland

The Gonzales property was historically part of the Town of Alameda Land grant. In 1710, a grant of the Alameda lands was given to Corporal Francisco Montes Vigil, a soldier in the Spanish army. The Alameda Land Grant, which was comprised of over 100, 000 acres, provided clear title of ownership for all property within the Village of Corrales. Vigil was unable to settle on his grant as required by Spanish law so, in 1712, he sold it to Captain Juan Gonzales Bas. Through the years the land was subdivided among family members and many parcels were sold, however, the tract recently purchased by the Village of Corrales is part of a larger parcel of land that had remained in the Gonzales family for centuries and had been continuously farmed since 1712.

The acquisition was a joint effort between the Village of Corrales, through its Farmland Preservation Program, and the New Mexico Land Conservancy. Funding for the acquisition of the land was provided by the Village through a local, voter approved general obligation bond passed in 2003 in support of farmland and open space preservation within the Village. Village bond measure funds combined with matching funds from a federal grant from the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program were used to purchase the conservation easement.