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New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

2 hours ago

This Week in New Mexico HistoryThe Park Springs Ranch Headquarters Complex (SR1930), located in San Miguel County, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for local significance on October 28, 2008.Park Springs Ranch was developed from land from two historic Spanish land grants – the Antonio Ortiz Grant and the Don Juan Estevan Pino Grant. The Headquarters Complex has nine contributing buildings, two structures, three sites, and one object. These resources document the transition of a traditional Hispanic hacienda into a large-scale, modern American cattle corporation. When the complex was listed in 2008 most buildings retained their original use.The ranch is centered around a natural spring originally named Ojo de la Gallina or Gallinas Springs. The springs became a stopover point for travelers on adjacent historic trails, serving as a scheduled stop on the old stage and mail route that ran between Las Vegas, New Mexico and Fort Bascom, and others. The ranch was founded around 1860 when James E. Whitmore, an Anglo settler from Pennsylvania and his Hispanic bride settled on the land surrounding Gallinas Springs. Whitmore introduced a modified version of the Anglo-Texas ranching system and in addition to cattle, Whitmore had sheep. The ranch’s location near several military forts was a boon for Whitmore’s operation, freighting goods to both Fort Sumner and Fort Union and government freight traveling on the Fort Smith Road. The main house, historically known as the Hacienda de San Juan Bautista del Ojito de las Gallinas and features New Mexico territorial architecture. Built with adobe walls, the house has a series of interconnecting rooms and Spanish-style corner fireplaces. Whitmore owned the property until 1928 when Texas ranchers owned the property and the Anglo-Texas ranching method was expanded. When the property was listed in 2008 the ranch was operating as an active cattle ranch.The nomination for listing may be found online, here: npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/6fb60eee-d84c-4176-8b83-0d9265181bb6 ...

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New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

1 week ago

This Week in New Mexico HistoryThe D.H. Sutherland House, located in La Luz, Otero County, New Mexico, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on October 23, 1980. The house was built around 1870 by Mariano Ramirez. The house was originally a three-room, flat-roofed, adobe house. When Dave H. Sutherland bought the house in 1890, he added a south-facing screened porch, a gable roof, and additional rooms. On the interior, the house has high ceilings, wood floors and corner fireplaces. Spanish Franciscan missionaries built a small chapel in La Luz, Our Lady of the Light, in 1719. Around 1860 Mexican American farmers fled severe flooding along the Rio Grande and settled in La Luz. DH Sutherland was one of La Luz’s substantial landholders and by 1898 he owned several large parcels and the water rights to them. The nomination for listing may be found online, here: npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/1a70f769-1ebe-4953-af7d-d87bc712cf4c ...

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New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

2 weeks ago

This Week in New Mexico HistoryAbó Pueblo and Mission, located in Torrance County, was listed as a National Historic Landmark on October 15, 1966. Abó Pueblo and Mission is part of a larger complex, Salinas Pueblo Missions NMThere are three units within the National Monument, Abó, Quarai, and Gran Quivira. The units are discontiguous, each with distinct Spanish Missions, Native American Pueblos, and a variety of other historic buildings and ancestral sites. The first park started on November 1, 1909, with the preservation of the Gran Quivira unit. That monument was joined in 1980 by the Abó and Quarai Units, and the monument was transferred to the National Park Service from New Mexico State Monuments (the predecessor agency to today’s New Mexico Historic Sites.) The Missions, Pueblos, Kivas, and Homesteads of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument have stood for hundreds of years and as testaments to the people and cultures that called this area home. Abó is likely the oldest Pueblo at Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. It represents a continuum of land use over 1,000 years by settlers of the Tompiro people. Pueblo people lived in the area starting roughly around 800 AD. These included farmers, hunters, creators, and builders, who were central to a connected trade of goods, ideas, and techniques that flourished throughout the southwest. Abó appears to have first been documented by Spanish explorer, Antonio de Espejo, in 1583. Missionary work began in 1622, and construction of the first church began in 1629. The site includes pit houses, jacales, prehistoric and historic pueblos, 17th century Spanish Franciscan mission structures, and 19th century ranchero structures. San Gregorio de Abó is the oldest mission in the monument. There are over 2100 places listed in the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico and Abó Pueblo and Mission is the first on the list as “State Register 1” or “SR1”. The nomination for listing may be found online, here:npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/3f1c62c8-b1bf-485c-95d1-998c7b8b7b95For more information about the Salinos Pueblo Mission National Monument, visit:www.nps.gov/sapu/index.htm ...

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