In 1717 Juan Uribarri opened a trading post from the structure, making it one of the first white settlements in Kansas, far from the eastern border of the state. He operated the trading post here until the late 1720's when El Cuartelejo was abandoned for the final time. Mr. Steele, who homesteaded the area, used the old irrigation canals for his truck garden when he farmed this valley. In the 1890's the site was excavated by archeologists from the University of Kansas. Photo at left shows what the pueblo would have looked like when inhabited by the Taos Indians in the 1600's.
Evidence suggests that the structure had no doors in the walls.
A small spring flows from a canyon and creates a micro-climate for water loving plants. Wildflowers bloom throughout the area surrounding the lake adding to it's beauty.