Certified Sites on El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro NHT

Located along El Camino Real, this property is listed on the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places. Its name comes from the family who built it in the years following the Civil War. It was originally the private residence, built in 1868, of James L. (Santiago) Hubbell, a merchant and trader; his wife Julianita Gutierrez-Hubbell; and their twelve children, all of whom were born in the house.

When Santa Fe Trail trader James Johnson bought this adobe home in 1849, he expanded it to 19 rooms under a single, unifying zaguán (vestibule). Behind his Territorial Style home, Santa Fe Trail merchants kept their horses and oxen in his corrals before their return trip east.

Since 1610, this block-long, one-story adobe building has housed the offices and living quarters of 58 Spanish Colonial Governors, 16 Mexican Governors, four military and three civilian governors during U.S. rule, and 17 Territorial Governors. The building endured the 1680 Pueblo Indian Revolt; the 1692-1693 Spanish reconquest; the 1846 arrival of Brigadier General Kearny; and the 1862 invasion of Texas Confederate Troops.

Built in 1846, this U. S. fort was the first in New Mexico Territory (and is the only fort left in the United States from the Mexican American War). Built for 280 men, this irregularly shaped star fort was never garrisoned. Located on a hill 50 yards higher in elevation than the Plaza, its 14 cannons could have confronted an approaching Mexican army or suppressed a local uprising.

Santa Fe became a hub of international trade in the 1800s. The exchange of Spanish, American Indian, Mexican, and U.S. cultures inspired uniquely New Mexican art. With 3,000 objects, the collections at the museum are the most comprehensive compilation of Spanish Colonial art of their kind.

Casa San Ysidro: The Gutiérrez/Minge House is a charming historic house museum in Corrales, New Mexico. A satellite of the Albuquerque Museum operated jointly with the Village of Corrales, New Mexico, with support from Sandoval County and the State of New Mexico Historic Preservation Division, and affectionately known as “Casa,” the property is home to one of the most comprehensive collections of New Mexican art and furnishings.

Founded in 1853, the town of La Mesilla was originally located in Mexico. At the time Mesilla was founded, the population of the town was concentrated around the plaza for defense against Apache Raiders who were a constant threat to the settlement. Many of the adobe buildings built during that era remain today. Perhaps the most significant event to occur on the plaza included the consummation of the Gadsden Purchase by the raising of the United States flag .

The Rio Grande bosque and the Sandia Mountains lie just beyond Kuaua Ruins, a prehistoric Tiwa village that was one of the largest Pueblo Indian settlements in the region at the time of the 1540 expedition of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. For visitors who wander through the ruins along an interpretive trail, explore the museum and visitor center, or take in the pristine views from a shady portal or picnic tables, the Kuaua experience illuminates Pueblo Indian culture.

Fort Selden was established in 1865 in an effort to bring peace to south central New Mexico Territory. Built on the banks of the Rio Grande, this adobe fort housed units of the US Army's infantry and cavalry. Their intent was to protect settlers and travelers in the Mesilla Valley and along El Camino Real from desperados and Apache Indians. The fort remained active until 1891.

In 1854 the US Army established Fort Craig (on a bluff west of the Rio Grande) to protect El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (located east of the Rio Grande). In 1862 troops stationed there fought an invading Confederate force in the Battle of Valverde. Troops remained here until 1885, three years after a railroad was built through the area.