Historical Markers and War Memorials in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Location of Santa Fe, New Mexico
► Santa Fe County(83) ► Bernalillo County(36) ► Los Alamos County(11) ► Mora County(47) ► Rio Arriba County(33) ► San Miguel County(23) ► Sandoval County(26) ► Torrance County(14)
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Wood peddlers, farmers and merchants went through Burro Alley. Burros economically served the many cultures of New Mexico. For many years the people of Santa Fe relied on the burro for their welfare. — — Map (db m54958) HM
Seeking to expand the domain of the King of Spain in 1540, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led an expedition of over 1,000 men and women north from Mexico into what is now Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. The Spanish explorers, in . . . — — Map (db m76166) HM
The viceroy of New Spain appointed Juan de Oñate as New Mexico’s first governor and directed him to settle the area along the upper Rio Grande. Accompanied by 200 settlers and over 7,000 head of livestock, Oñate arrived in New Mexico and established . . . — — Map (db m76183) HM
New Mexico’s third governor, Pedro de Peralta was instructed to relocate the capital to a more central location. He founded the Villa de Santa Fe, or Town of Holy Faith. The villa was named for a city of Spain built by King Ferdinand and Queen . . . — — Map (db m76198) HM
In the seventeenth century New Mexico was plagued by drought, conflicts between civil and church authorities, and extreme demands placed by the Spanish settlers on the native population. The latter situation caused a deterioration so severe that by . . . — — Map (db m76202) HM
Under the direction of Don Diego de Vargas, the Spanish returned to recapture New Mexico after twelve years of exile in El Paso. In an attempt to encourage settlement of the land in the Rio Grande Valley, Don Diego de Vargas issued land grants for . . . — — Map (db m76222) HM
In order to fulfill a promise that Don Diego de Vargas made, the government leaders of Santa Fe issued a proclamation calling for an annual fiesta to commemorate the peaceful reentry of the Spanish into Santa Fe in 1692. This annual celebration held . . . — — Map (db m76236) HM
When the Declaration of Independence was signed, Santa Fe was already 166 years old. English and American explorers and traders replaced the French as a source of concern to Spanish officials in New Mexico. The successful American War of . . . — — Map (db m76238) HM
In May of 1846, U.S. President James K. Polk ordered the invasion of Mexico by U.S. troops, thus beginning the Mexican War. Three months later, General Stephen Watts Kearney led a victorious U.S. Army unopposed across northern New Mexico and into . . . — — Map (db m76263) HM
Shortly after the Civil War began, the Confederacy turned its attention to the Southwest, and in February, 1862, three thousand three hundred troops under the command of Confederate General Sibley, defeated the Union troops at Valverde, raised the . . . — — Map (db m76264) HM
While the nation was celebrating the Centennial, Santa Fe was into its 266th year. Although the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago guaranteed the property of Hispanics and Indians, problems in the interpretation of Spanish and Mexican land laws worked to . . . — — Map (db m76269) HM
In 1906, Congress passed an act that would enable New Mexico and Arizona to become one large state. The residents in Arizona voted against the act, while the New Mexicans voted for it. It was not until 1912 that the opposing forces were reconciled . . . — — Map (db m76270) HM
Every year since 1926, when Will Shuster and Jacques Cartier created the image, Santa Fe and friends have been able to release their ties to depression, gloom and uncertainty by burning a symbol of these misfortunes . . . Zozobra! The burning of the . . . — — Map (db m76273) HM
During World War II, the federal government set up a secret facility in Los Alamos to coordinate the Manhattan Project, resulting in the development of the first atomic bomb. On July 16, 1945, the atomic bomb was exploded at “Trinity . . . — — Map (db m76309) HM
Santa Fe celebrated its 350th anniversary. During that year, special guests Maria Teresa Perez-Balsera and Maria Luisa Perez-Balsera arrived from Spain. The two ladies are direct descendants of Captain-General Don Diego de Vargas, the central figure . . . — — Map (db m76311) HM
Santa Fe, now 366 years old, joined the rest of the United States in celebrating the nation’s 200th birthday. New Mexico and the entire Southwest continued to see tremendous expansion and population growth with the influx of migration from the east. . . . — — Map (db m76316) HM
While responding to a request to give the Last Rites to a dying man, Franciscan Father Reynaldo Rivera, rector at St. Francis Cathedral, was kidnapped and brutally murdered, sending Santa Fe and the entire state into shock. Ironically, Father Rivera . . . — — Map (db m76317) HM
By proclamation of the City Council, Santa Fe celebrated its 375th anniversary. During the year, this property was donated to the city by Archbishop Robert Sanchez and the Santa Fe Fiesta Council. These gifts, together with appropriations by the . . . — — Map (db m76319) HM
Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States, a successful blend of three cultures and yet a modern city of over 50,000 residents.
The Commemorative Walkway Park, constructed in 1986, provides a historical walk through Santa Fe . . . — — Map (db m76131) HM
From 500 A.D. onward, New Mexico underwent a number of comparatively rapid changes. The people throughout the western two-thirds of the state became increasingly restricted to smaller and smaller areas resulting in the development of many regional . . . — — Map (db m76136) HM
The Santa Fe Trail passed through what is now Amelia White Park. The paved road to the right, Old Santa Fe Trail, follows the path and ruts of the original trail route, whose travelers came from a variety of backgrounds. From the start, Hispanic . . . — — Map (db m76487) HM
(side one)
Amelia Elizabeth White (1878-1972)
Amelia Elizabeth White worked tirelessly to promote Indian art and to preserve Santa Fe's heritage. A philanthropist and community activist, she donated land for the Laboratory of . . . — — Map (db m45484) HM
This is a two sided markerSide A:
Bicentennial Celebration
This facility was built by the New Mexico State Highway Department to commemorate the
bicentennial birthday of the United States. Located 15 miles south of the . . . — — Map (db m55150) HM
The notorious New Mexico outlaw, also known as William Bonney, was captured and sucessfully imprisoned for the last time in the downstairs jail housed in this, the Cornell Building, at 208 W. San Francisco St., Santa Fe, from December 27, 1880 to . . . — — Map (db m73714) HM
Strategically located where the Santa Fe Trail emerges from Glorieta Pass, Cañoncito is where the New Mexico Governor Manuel Armijo weakly defended New Mexico against the American Army in 1846. In 1862, Union forces destroyed a Confederate supply . . . — — Map (db m119815) HM
In 1697 this property was granted to Captain Diego Arias de Quiros by Spanish royal decree for his part in the reconquest of New Mexico with De Vargas. In 1879 bought by L. Bradford Prince, later Territorial Governor. In 1942 bought by Field estate . . . — — Map (db m55706) HM
In 1598 a group of Spanish colonists, led by Juan de Oñate of Zacatecas, Mexico, established a settlement along the banks of the Rio Grande north of present-day Española. In 1610 Governor Pedro de Peralta relocated the capital of the province to . . . — — Map (db m73092) HM
Don Diego de Vargas Zapata Luján Ponce de León, born 1643 in Madrid, Spain, served the crown as Governor of New Mexico from 1691–1697 and 1703–1704. Vargas was a devout Christian with a strong devotion to Nuestra Señora La Conquistadora, . . . — — Map (db m76234) HM
Don Juan Bautista de Anza, outstanding Spanish governor of New Mexico (1776–1787), explored a new road from Santa Fe to Arispe, Sonora, in 1780. This plaque is placed in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of that historic journey.
Don . . . — — Map (db m76950) HM
Fortress and Castle
built by order of the
Spanish crown 1610-1612
Seat of Government
under three flags–Spanish,
Mexican & American-
From 1610 to 1910 the
residence of over a hundred
Governors & Captains General
The . . . — — Map (db m45588) HM
Priest – Poet – Historian – Archivist
Artist – Author – Biographer – Genealogist
And native-born New Mexican
Major, U.S. Army – W.W. II & Korean Conflict
“THE LOVE I Love is one, . . . — — Map (db m72746) HM
(side one)
First gold placer mining west of the Mississippi began with the discovery of the precious metal in the rugged Ortiz Mountains south of here in 1828, 21 years before the California gold rush. Since then, the district has . . . — — Map (db m45477) HM
Roadrunner Cowbelles dedicate this hitching post at the end of the trail to American cattlemen and their horses for their glorious role in winning the West. — — Map (db m72745) HM
This park is named after Benjamin Talbot Hyde, devoted educator of America’s youth. His family donated the 350 acres which constitutes the park to the State of New Mexico in 1934. Situated at an elevation of 8,500 feet in the scenic Sangre de Cristo . . . — — Map (db m73259) HM
Front:
Inez Bushner Gill impressed governors, legislators and journalists with her fiscal expertise. Among the original staff of the Legislative Council Service when it was founded in 1951, she served as fiscal analyst and principal staff for . . . — — Map (db m119928) HM
(side one)
On the skyline to the west are the Jémez Mountains where tremendous volcanic eruptions a million years ago created a huge caldera some 15 miles in diameter that now forms beautiful Valle Grande set amid a ring of volcanic peaks. . . . — — Map (db m45655) HM
On this site stood the memorable Chapel of The Lady of Light, often called the “Castrense” which marked the northernmost limit of Mexican Baroque style. Here in Santa Fe flourished the Hispano-American civilization which this Chapel . . . — — Map (db m64841) HM
Built in 1878, the Lamy Building was originally part of St. Michael's College. The lower two floors, which remain today, were constructed of adobe. The third floor, with its mansard roof and domed cupola, was framed in wood, probably to reduce the . . . — — Map (db m45594) HM
(side one)
An outstanding photographer of the twentieth century, Laura Gilpin is best known for capturing southwestern cultures and landscapes on film. When her car ran out of gas on the Navajo reservation in 1930, she began . . . — — Map (db m45483) HM
(side one)
Maria Gertrudis Barceló or Doña Tules, a notorious gambler and courtesan, operated a gambling house and saloon on Burro Alley in Santa Fe. She traveled up El Camino Real from Sonora, Mexico in 1815. Bishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy . . . — — Map (db m45479) HM
(side one)
Four Sisters of Loretto, Mother Magdalen Hayden and Sisters Roberta Brown, Rosana Dant and Catherine Mahoney, arrived in Santa Fe from Kentucky on September 26, 1852. In January 1853 they established Our Lady of Light Academy, . . . — — Map (db m119764) HM
You are traveling an early alignment of U.S. 66, perhaps the most well-known road to follow this historic transportation corridor. A Spanish mission trail to Pecos Pueblo, the Santa Fe Trail and the National Old Trails Road all predate the Mother . . . — — Map (db m119914) HM
Oldest church structure in U.S.A. The adobe walls and altar were built by Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico under the direction of Franciscan Padres. ca. 1610 — — Map (db m116019) HM
Santa Fe, the oldest capital city in the United States, was established in 1610 as the seat of the Spanish colonial government for the Province of New Mexico. The Palace of the Governors, used by the Spanish, Mexican, and Territorial governors, has . . . — — Map (db m45575) HM
The Santa Fe Opera, founded in 1957, has won worldwide acclaim for the high standards of its presentations and the success of its apprentice program. World and American premieres as well as standard operatic favorites are presented here. Most . . . — — Map (db m64870) HM
Santa Fe Plaza
has been designated a
National Historic
Landmark
The heart of Santa Fe since its founding by Spanish colonial Governor Don Pedro De Peralta in 1609-1610, this public space was a terminus of El Camino Real and the . . . — — Map (db m71579) HM
When Don Juan Sena bought this land in 1796, Santa Fe belonged to Spain. When Major José D. Sena built this house for his bride Doña Isabel Cabeza de Baca in 1831, Santa Fe belonged to Mexico. In 1846 Santa Fe became part of the United States. — — Map (db m55709) HM
Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946), naturalist, artist, writer, authority on Indian lore, and first Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of America, lived here during the last part of his life. The village includes his home, art collection, library, and . . . — — Map (db m55151) HM
(side one)
The first Sisters of Charity arrived in New Mexico Territory in 1865 from Cincinnati at the request of Bishop Lamy with the mission of serving all people regardless of race, religion or ability to pay. Hundreds of sisters . . . — — Map (db m45482) HM
Also used as two-story defensive tower for Palace of the Governors during the 1600’s. Gen. Don Diego de Vargas was probably buried beneath the floor of this chapel in 1704. — — Map (db m64842) HM
(right tablet) On March 30, 1609, the Viceroy of New Spain appointed Don Pedro de Peralta Governor and Captain-General of New Mexico, instructing him to proceed to New Mexico with the greatest dispatch accompanied by twelve soldiers and . . . — — Map (db m76340) HM
The Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to Los Angeles. In the years 1829 to 1848 pack mule trains regularly left the Santa Fe Plaza and northern New Mexico carrying woolen goods produced in New Mexico bound for California. Horses and mules were . . . — — Map (db m64852) HM
The Spitz Jewelry Store was established on the Plaza in 1881, and a clock, without works, was placed in front of the store to advertise the wares offered. Near the turn of the century, this “clock” was replaced by a functioning sidewalk . . . — — Map (db m64966) HM
(side one)
Three generations of one family worked more than 100 years to preserve the cultural heritage of New Mexico. Eva Fenyes created an artistic and photographic record of missions and adobe buildings, and preserved Spanish . . . — — Map (db m45481) HM
(South face):
To the Heroes
of the Federal Army, who fell
at the Battle of Valverde.
Fought with the Rebels
February 21, 1862
(West face):
To the Heroes
of the Federal Army, who fell
at the Battles of Cañon . . . — — Map (db m45586) HM
The officers and crew of the light cruiser, U.S.S. Santa Fe, dedicate this plaque to the memory of the gallant men who fought and served aboard her from 1942 to 1946. — — Map (db m54960) WM
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