Brazito This campsite, between the east bank of the Río Grande and the Organ Mountains, was used by Lafora on August 7, 1766. He located it some 20 leagues north of the place where he crossed the river. From this paraje, Lafora went to Robledillo (Alessio Robles 1939:90-91). …
Sabinal, Camino Real In his reminiscences, recorded in 1777, Juan Candelaria described the founding of many towns after the Spanish reconquest of New Mexico in the 1690s. He thought that Sabinal was founded in 1741 and associated it with Belén (Armijo 1929:280-281). Sabinal is listed on official registers of towns…
Lemitar, Camino Real Although Lemitar does not appear on any Mexican period lists of settlements it apparently came into existence in 1831. The present church, completed by 1835, had its first burial in its camposanto shortly afterwards. The plaza was located to the east of the church and the road…
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…
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…
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…
In 1777, Juan Candelaria recalled that the eighteenth-century settlement of Cieneguilla took place in 1698. It was four leagues from Santa Fé and was watered by the Río de Santa Fé (Armijo 1929:282-283). In 1776 Fray Domínguez wrote that two roads went down from Quemado like a V and…
