Ramon A. Baca Valencia County, New Mexico

Ramon A. Baca, who lived at San Mateo in the days immediately following the Civil war, was another widely known man. It is said that when he first located there he was so utterly destitute that he killed a prairie dog with his gun in order to provide food for his wife and children. He engaged in the stock business, raising cattle, horses and sheep, and amassed a fortune. For years he lived like a feudal lord, spending his money like Croesus, entertaining lavishly, and making his journey through the country with a coach and four horses. During the Apache wars he commanded a company of native militia, great pomp and dignity characterizing all his military movements, though the records do not mention any especially active service performed by him. Like many of his contemporaries, he suffered the loss of his entire fortune during the panic of 1893-4, and died about two years later in comparative poverty.

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Source: History of New Mexico, Its Resources and People, Volume II, Pacific States Publishing Co., 1907.