Historical Markers in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico
Tierra Amarilla is the county seat for Rio Arriba County
Adjacent to Rio Arriba County, New Mexico
Los Alamos County(15) ► Mora County(49) ► San Juan County(29) ► Sandoval County(27) ► Santa Fe County(154) ► Taos County(51) ► Archuleta County, Colorado(6) ► Conejos County, Colorado(3) ►
Touch name on this list to highlight map location. Touch blue arrow, or on map, to go there.
On Highway 84 (U.S. 84 at milepost 211.5) near Local Road 187, on the left when traveling south.
Established on the site of an abandoned Indian pueblo, Abiquiú in the mid-18th century became a settlement of Spaniards and genizaros (Hispanicized Indians). In 1776, explorers Fray Francisco Atanacio Dominguez and Fray Silvestre Vélez de Escalante . . . — — Map (db m73192) HM
Near U.S. 84 at milepost 225 near Local Road 1708.
In 1881 David Baldwin discovered small fossilized bones
on what is now Ghost Ranch. He mailed the bones to
paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in Philadelphia. Cope had been through the area in the late 1870s and had urged Baldwin to explore and . . . — — Map (db m75212) HM
On Highway 84 (U.S. 84 at milepost 215.5) north of Abiquiu, on the right when traveling north.
One of America’s great and most celebrated painters of the twentieth century, Georgia O’Keeffe is known for her unique depictions of natural and architectural forms. She began spending summers painting in Northern New Mexico in 1929 and moved from . . . — — Map (db m73124) HM
On Highway 84 (U.S. 84 at milepost 215.5) north of Abiquiu, on the right when traveling north.
The colorful formations exposed here are the slope forming Chinle Shale of Triassic age, deposited in streams, lakes, and floodplains some 250 million years ago and the cliff-forming Entrada Sandstone of Jurassic age deposited as windblown sand some . . . — — Map (db m73158) HM
On State Road 68 at milepost 8.7 at Los Luceros (County Road 48), on the right when traveling north on State Road 68.
Historic Los Luceros includes a Pueblo Indian ruin and an 18th century rancho/hacienda on Sebastián Martin Serrano's 1703 land grant. Evolving out of family inheritance, local artistry and preservation efforts, the complex contains five adobe . . . — — Map (db m45711) HM
On Terrace Avenue (New Mexico Route 17) at 3rd Street, on the right when traveling north on Terrace Avenue.
1881 Log Bunkhouse • oldest building on railroad 1924 Coal Tipple • 70 ft. high holds 60 ton, fast empty the only wood tipple left 1907 Water Tank • holds 50,000 gal. • unique style with two waterspouts — — Map (db m193153) HM
On Terrace Avenue (State Road 17), on the right when traveling north.
From a small crossroads town, Chama became an important site on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad after 1880. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a remnant of the San Juan Extension, a narrow-gauge line which once served the mining areas . . . — — Map (db m74253) HM
From a small crossroads town, Chama became an important site on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad after 1880. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a remnant of the San Juan Extension a narrow-gauge line which once served the mining areas . . . — — Map (db m74254) HM
On State Highway 17, 3 miles north of County Road 445, on the right when traveling north.
A major encounter between the U.S. Army and a large group of Utes and Jicarilla Apaches occurred here in July 1848. Old Bill Williams, the famous scout and guide, was badly wounded while fighting the Utes, who had once adopted him as a tribesman. — — Map (db m125499) HM
On State Highway 17 at U.S. 64, on the right when traveling south on State Highway 17.
In 1829-30, Antonio Armijo traveled from Abiquiú to California to trade for mules, thus extending the Old Spanish Trail and opening it to trade between Santa Fe and Los Angeles. His route turned west, near present-day Abiquiú Dam, to Largo Canyon, . . . — — Map (db m125497) HM
On Juan Medina Road (County Road 98) 0.1 miles east of High Road to Taos (State Road 76), on the left when traveling south.
Indians occupied the Chimayo valley centuries before the arrival of the Spaniards. The village of Chimayo, founded in the early 18th century, shortly after the reconquest of New Mexico, has been a center of the Spanish weaving tradition for over 250 . . . — — Map (db m32819) HM
On State Road 76 at milepost 10.2,, 0.4 miles east of Cundiyo Road (State Road 503), on the right when traveling west. Reported missing.
Cordova, originally named Pueblo Quemado after a nearby burned-out Indian Pueblo, was permanently re-settled in 1750 after Indian attacks. It was renamed Cordova in 1900 after a prominent local family. The village chapel, San Antonio de Padua, is an . . . — — Map (db m45675) HM
On Sanctuario Drive - County 94C, 0.2 miles west of Juan Medina Road (County Road 98), on the right.
In 1816, Bernardo Abeyta and the other residents of El Potrero, then a separate community, finished this massive adobe chapel honoring Nuestro Señor de Esquípulas. It is noted for its 6-foot crucifix and its tradition of healing the sick. The . . . — — Map (db m32817) HM
The Jicarilla Apaches, primarily a hunting and gathering group, once occupied vast portions of northeastern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Pressure from Comanche Indians and European settlers eventually pushed them from their homeland. In 1887, . . . — — Map (db m104757) HM
On State Road 554 at milepost 11, on the right when traveling north.
Tewa people lived in this area before the village of El Rito Colorado was settled in the 1830s by residents from the Abiquiú area. The Territorial Legislature of 1909 established the Spanish-American Normal School here to train teachers for northern . . . — — Map (db m73394) HM
On State Road 554 at milepost 11.5 north of State Road 571.
This village was settled in the 1830s by residents from the Abiquiú area. The Territorial Legislature of 1909 established the Spanish-American Normal School here to train teachers for northern New Mexico schools. After several changes in name and . . . — — Map (db m73395) HM
On State Road 554 near Placitas Road (State Road 215).
This historical church was begun by the first Spanish settlers of the El Rito Valley in 1827 and completed in 1832. Originally flat roofed and with small window openings in the 5 ft. thick walls, it not only served as an imposing temple, but also as . . . — — Map (db m64977) HM
On State Road 68, 1.1 miles west of State Road 75, on the right when traveling west.
Site of the first United States Geological Survey training center for hydrographers. Those trained here made some of the earliest hydrological studies in the nation, leading to stream-gaging of many streams throughout the country, and thus . . . — — Map (db m148769) HM
On Chama Highway (U.S. 84 at milepost 191.1), close to Española, on the right when traveling north.
On July 29, 1776, two Franciscans, Fray Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Fray Silvestre Velez de Escalante set out on horseback on an expedition from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Monterey, California. The purpose of the expedition was two-fold: to open . . . — — Map (db m73389) HM
On North Paseo De Onate (U.S. 84 at milepost 191), 0.5 miles north of Fairview Drive, on the right when traveling south.
When it was described by Gaspar Castano de Sosa in 1591, the Española Valley contained about ten Tewa-speaking pueblos, several of which are still occupied today. Juan de Oñate established New Mexico’s first colony here in 1598. Long on the northern . . . — — Map (db m45671) HM
Frank Bond (1863-1945), prominent Española merchant, came from Canada in 1882. In 1887 Bond married May Anna Caffal of Pueblo, Colorado and built the home. The house grew from a two-room adobe to this large structure. Acquired by the city in 1957, . . . — — Map (db m45665) HM
On Highway 84 (U.S. 84) at State Road 233 on Highway 84.
Agueda is the matriarch of Hispanic weaving in New Mexico. From a very young age, she was known for her complex designs and natural dyes. She was the subject of the Academy Award-nominated documentary film, “Agueda Martinez: Our People, Our . . . — — Map (db m73393) HM
On State Road 68, 0.3 miles south of State Road 74, on the right when traveling north.
Esther Martinez served her community as an educator, linguist and storyteller. Her foremost contributions to our state are documenting and preserving the Tewa language and the art of storytelling. Esther was named a National Heritage Fellow in 2006 . . . — — Map (db m32856) HM
On State Road 291, 0.1 miles south of State Road 74, on the left when traveling south.
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San Juan Parish's Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes was conceived as place of pilgrimage for those faithful wishing to honor Our Lady and to be given a glimpse
of her place of apparition to St. Bernadette Soubirou in the . . . — — Map (db m32794) HM
On State Road 68, on the right when traveling north.
Governor Juan de Oñate set up his headquarters in San Juan Pueblo in 1598, but by 1601 he had moved the Spanish capital across the Rio Grande to Yuque-Yunque Pueblo. Named San Gabriel, it served as the seat of government until 1610, when Oñate's . . . — — Map (db m32877) HM
On Los Alamos Highway (State Road 30 at milepost 7.1) at Roller Road, on the left when traveling north on Los Alamos Highway.
Pablita Velarde was an internationally acclaimed artist whose paintings largely depicted Pueblo life. She was commissioned by the WPA art's program to paint murals at Bandelier National Monument. Selected as one of New Mexico's "Living Treasures", . . . — — Map (db m45663) HM
On Los Alamos Highway (State Road 30 at milepost 7.1) at Roller Road, on the left when traveling north on Los Alamos Highway.
Founded around the fourteenth century, Santa Clara traces its ancestry to Puye, an abandoned site of cave dwellings on the Pajarito Plateau. Increasing tensions with the Spanish led to its participation in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The mission . . . — — Map (db m45664) HM
On Highway 84/64 (U.S. 84), on the right when traveling south.
Fort Lowell was established in 1866 to protect the Tierra Amarilla area settlements from the Southern Utes. Originally named Camp Plummer this post was garrisoned by a detachment of New Mexico Volunteers, some of whose descendants live in the area. . . . — — Map (db m74255) HM
On Highway 84/64 (State Road 84) at Highway 162 (State Road 162) on Highway 84/64.
Elevation 7,860 ft.
In 1832 the Mexican government made a large community land grant to Manuel Martinez and other settlers but settlement was delayed by raids by Utes, Jicarilla Apaches and Navajos. Tierra Amarilla, first called Nutritas, . . . — — Map (db m74256) HM
On Highway 84/64 (State Road 84) at Highway 162 (State Road 162) on Highway 84/64.
Elevation 7,860 ft.
In 1832 the Mexican government made a large community land grant to Manuel Martinez and other settlers but settlement was delayed by raids by Utes, Jicarilla Apaches and Navajos. Tierra Amarilla, first called Nutritas, . . . — — Map (db m74257) HM
On State Road 76 near County Road 77A, on the right when traveling east.
In 1754, Governor Tomás Vélez Cachupín granted land on the Rio Truchas to families from Santa Cruz and Chimayó. Because Nuestra Señora de Rosario de Truchas was on the northern frontier, and subject to attack by Plains Indians, the governor . . . — — Map (db m64915) HM
On State Road 76 north of Truchas Crossroads, on the right when traveling east.
Ice age glaciers carved these beautiful alpine peaks, among the highest in the New Mexico Rockies, rising to 13,101 feet. Precambrian quartzite, some of the oldest rock in New Mexico, forms the core of the Truchas (“trout”) Peaks, part . . . — — Map (db m64916) HM
On State Road 68 at County Road 60, on the left when traveling north on State Road 68.
Founded in 1875, this small farming community was named La Jolla. It was once famous for finely woven blankets. Here the Camino Real left the Rio Grande and followed a canyon northeast to Embudo Creek where it began a climb over the mountains to . . . — — Map (db m43810) HM
