Agua Fría is a living reminder of life along El Camino Real, where many adobe houses and lots across the river still belong to families whose ancestors received land grants from the Spanish crown more than 400 years ago. Lifelong residents remember an agricultural past in which families planted orchards and gardens, raised sheep and cattle, and irrigated fields to grow corn, alfalfa, and wheat, while selling produce and wood to neighbors in the more urbanized city of Santa Fe. The original land lots on this side of Agua Fría Street, the original route of El Camino Real, extended to the river for irrigation, and many still retain their original river frontage. A large dam built on the Santa Fe River in 1943 for city drinking water ended a centuries-old way of life in Agua Fría. In 1995, residents organized to preserve their heritage, property, and water rights and to qualify as a Traditional Historic Community. Traditional practices remain important, as residents have long worked together to make adobes for building, repairing, and expanding their houses, and farming continues through family gardens and a community farm that rely on irrigation. A 1914 acequia survey showed family names and land lots including Romero, Sánchez, Cortez, Hernandez, and Lopez, with little change into the present day.