Belén on the Camino Real

By the mid-eighteenth century Spanish colonization had begun along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque. The Belén land grant was made to encourage expansion, and colonists from Albuquerque settled here around 1740. The early community also included a group of Genízaro Indians. Belén is Spanish for Bethlehem. Population–7,269 Elevation–4,800 ft.