1598

1598. . , 1598 , By virtue of his royal contract, don Juan de Oñate became New Mexico's first governor. Oñate and his group of colonists left Santa Bárbara, Chihuahua in January of 1598. They crossed the Rio Grande at the present location of El Paso, Texas, and on April 30 celebrated the first American thanksgiving feast in observance of their safe arrival. The colonists followed the Rio Grande north, visiting a number of pueblos along the way before temporarily settling at a pueblo Oñate named San Juan de los Caballeros. Shortly thereafter Oñate established a more permanent capital called San Gabriel de los Españoles on the opposite side of the Río Grande. The settlers would forever change the American West and their pueblo neighbors through the introduction of European livestock including horses, cattle, donkeys, sheep; goats, swine and poultry. Agriculture was similarly affected through the introduction of cereal grains, fruits and vegetables as well as acequia ditch irrigation. Oñate's colonists also introduced metalworking, the wheel, firearms, adobe bricks and the written word. In addition to forging a viable community, the settlers' explorations ranged to the Sea of Cortés and the Kansas plains. Their descendants continue to shape the culture of New Mexico to this day. , Eldorado Hotel