Originally meaning “oven” in Spanish, an horno is a dome-shaped wood-burning outdoor oven made of adobe. Hornos were brought to the San Luis Valley, as well as other parts of the Americas, by Spanish settlers in the 16th and 17th centuries. Spaniards adopted the oven design from the Middle East and Northern Africa. Settlers used hornos to cook food outside when they first arrived and the practice was eventually adopted by local indigenous Pueblo peoples. It is still a significant part of culture in many communities throughout Southern Colorado and New Mexico.

The Horno at the Rio Grande Farm Park acts as an excellent outdoor gathering place for visitors and can be used to cook all sorts of delicious foods – from oven-roasted corn (known as “chicos” to SLV locals) to wood-fired pizza. It was constructed from May to October in 2022 by a group of volunteer workers who also built the adobe brick wall that surrounds the Horno and Education Center. The project was funded by a generous donation from Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area. “Re-mudding” the Horno has since become a beloved annual farm park volunteer tradition in the summertime to maintain the adobe exterior.