Courtesy Photos The cross on Mogote Hill at the entrance to Conejos Canyon, has long been a topic of speculation and legend. Los Mogotes, above, were named after wind-blown piles of dirt or stacks of produce in the fields. The Mogote Post Office was established in 1897 and closed in 1920. While there is a legend connected to the cross, it also has been called the "Fox Creek Cross."

MOGOTE — What’s the story behind that cross on the Mogote Hill at the entrance to Conejos Canyon?
It isn’t a cross left there by long-gone religious groups, but an effort to ward off hailstorms.
Antonito Ledger-News files and writer Margie Rice shared some of the truth in an old edition.
According to information submitted by Medardo I. Martinez and shared in Forgotten Southern Colorado on Facebook, the cross was placed on Mogote Hill by Carlos Manuel Martinez in 1912 after a 1911 hailstorm hit the area and ruined his crops, along with those of Candido Suazo, Juan Sanchez, Cleofes Jaramillo and Rodolfo Martinez, along with many other good crops in the area.
It has been said that since the cross was set, there has been no more hail damage.
The cross is also called the “Fox Creek Cross,” dedicated to Alfred Duran and Valerie Duran
Forgotten Southern Colorado was created by Robert J. Ruybalid and has proven to be a treasure trove of historic photos from most of Southern Colorado.
Ruybalid explains it is also a way to find ancestors, perhaps a long-lost cousin.
Among the items to be found are traditional recipes, history of the comics’ “Red Ryder and Little Beaver,” a photo of the 1902 Colorado School of Mines football team, old portraits and family photos and a journey into cultural anthropology, focused upon the study of cultural variations among humans.