Excerpts: In 1934, the Colorado Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, a state corporation operating under the direction of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, made surveys to determine whether there was land available within the state for the resettlement of a large number of Colorado farm families who were being driven off their dry land farms by the drought and the depression. The surveys led the planners to the Bowen-Waverly District in the San Luis Valley. Here the large tracts of unoccupied land held by the drainage districts were available at a very reasonable price. Furthermore, while soil tests showed that it would probably take several years to bring the land into full production, the existing irrigation systems in the area promised an ample water supply. In 1935 the newly formed Resettlement Administration took over the work of the Colorado Rural Rehabilitation Corporation and preliminary plans were drafted for the establishment of the project. The San Luis Valley Farms project covers approximately 9,600 acres in Alamosa and Rio Grande Counties. The northern boundary of the community lies about 5 1/2 miles southwest of Alamosa. Each of the 92 farms contains approximately 80 acres of irrigable land. The farms are scattered among privately developed farms in the area.