The Revolt and Treason Trials of 1847 By Robert J. Torrez The occupation of New Mexico by United States troops in 1846, like the much better known reconquest of New Mexico by Diego de Vargas in 1692, is often characterized as peaceful and bloodless because it was accomplished without…
La Bajada New Mexico, Santa Fe Trail, La Boca At what is traditionally the dividing point in New Mexico between Rio Arriba (Upper River district) and Rio Abajo (Lower River district) travelers on the Camino Real could choose one of three ways to reach Santa Fe. (1) La Bajada…
Seventeen miles west of the Texas border, Lovington, the Queen City of the Plains, got its start and soul from the Lone Star state. Like many of his Texas compatriots, Robert Florence Love (1870-1942) first experienced the New Mexico territory during the waning years of open-range ranching, driving cattle…
Farmington Main Street, Farmington By Claudia Smith Farmington is located sixty-one miles southeast of the point where New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah meet, known as the Four Corners region. Long before the first Anglo-American settler arrived in the region, the San Juan Valley was occupied by groups of…
Juan Bautista Vigil y Alarid (1792-1866): Last Mexican Governor of New Mexico by Samuel Sisneros "Do not find it strange if there has been no manifestation of joy and enthusiasm in seeing this city occupied by your military forces. To us the power of the Mexican Republic is dead….
Juan Candelaria recalled Los Padillas being settled in 1710 (Armijo 1929:280-281). It appeared in the 1802 census (Olmsted 1981:142-143). Wislizenus mentioned this as a hacienda south of Alburquerque on 19 July 1846. He was on the east side of the Río Grande, and noted that the more verdant west…
On May 22, 1726 Rivera followed the bank of the Río Grande eight leagues and stayed at a paraje next to the river called Ranchería, which used to be inhabited frequently by the Mansos Indians before they were converted to pueblo life (Alessio Robles 1946:49). A comparison of the…
When the Spanish first arrived, the Santa Clara Indians referred to the area by a Tewa name, P\'o\'karige, meaning cold water place. The cold springs served as the impetus for area settlement. The 1766 plano drawn by José de Urrutia demonstrates the physical layout of the Villa de Santa…
Otermín placed Fray Cristóbal 60 leagues from Santa Fé, 32 leagues from Robledo, which he gave as the beginning of the dry jornada, and seven from La Cruz de Anaya (Hackett and Shelby 1942:II, 202;II, 365;II.397). Vargas reached Fray Cristóbal traveling north on August 30, 1692. He noted that…
Between the 26th and 27th of May 1598, the Oñate expedition traveled nine leagues from the “Arroyo de los Muertos” or “Arroyo de las Parras” without their carts because it was impossible to proceed with them. On the 27th, they arrived at “Ciénega de Mesilla de Guinea,” named this…
