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Socorro (help), took its name from Socorro, New Mexico, from which the Piro Indians fled following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Records show that Socorro was officially founded during a Mass delivered by Fray Antonio Guerra on October 13, 1680. Socorro's first permanent mission was in use by circa 1691.At that time, Socorro was comprised of sixty Piro Indian families and fifteen Spanish families. The mission was built by the Piros under the direction of Franciscan missionaries and dedicated as Nuestra Senora de Limpla Concepci6n de los Piros de Socorro del Sur (Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of the Piros of Socorro of the South). Many of the parishioners refer to their mission as San Miguel (St. Michael), in honor of their patron saint; or as La Purisima, in honor of the Blessed Virgin, Forever Pure. When the 1740 flood destroyed the original structure, the parishioners replaced it nearby. That second structure was also lost to flooding in 1829. Rebuilding was completed in 1843. Archaeological evidence s