Just as you turn onto Hwy 434 from Hwy 518 in Mora is the flour mill that Ceran St. Vrain built. The Bent St. Vrain Company built an elaborate adobe fort on the eastern Colorado plains. Along the Santa Fe Trail, this was the only privately owned fortification in the west and it became the premier trading center and rendezvous point. Ceran St. Vrain was known and respected as far north as the Snake River and as far south as Chihuahua. When notables came to the fort, it was the "charming and gentlemanly" Ceran who entertained the visitors. Eventually, he settled in Mora, New Mexico where he built a flour mill and began publishing the "Santa Fe Gazette" newspaper.
5 miles to the east of Mora is the junction of Hwy 442 with Hwy 518. The La Cueva Grist Mill was in operation until 1949. It too serviced Fort Union to the east with flour and mill products. The mills [there were 4 in the area] were an important part of the economy in Mora and the surrounding areas.
[Ceran St. Vrain]
[St. Vrain's Mill]
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