Mercure Brothers Store Site (La Plaza Galeria)

Visit the Mercure Brothers Store building, now the La Plaza Galeria, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

70 E San Francisco St., on the south side of the Santa Fe Plaza

Significance:

Quebec-born Santa Fe Trail trader Francois Aubry died here

MANAGED BY:

Stores and other businesses occupy this building

Quebec-born Santa Fe Trail trader Francois Aubry, whose enduring fame came in 1848, after racing on horseback across the Santa Fe Trail from here to Independence, Missouri in record time (five days, 16 hours) to win a $1,000 bet, died here in 1854 after a bar room argument with ex-newspaperman Richard Weightman. His friends, the Montreal-born Mercures, Joseph and Henri, tried to intervene, but Aubry’s knife wound was fatal.

Site Information

Location (70 E San Francisco St., on the south side of the Santa Fe Plaza)

Safety Considerations

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail

Santa Fe National Historic Trail

Old Spanish National Historic Trail

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Old Spanish Trail, Santa Fe Trail: Santa Fe, New Mexico Itinerary

Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the US, founded in 1610, and the highest in elevation at 7,000 ft. The city is the historic hub of the southwest, connecting three national historic trails: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Santa Fe Trail, and the Old Spanish Trail. This tour leads your from the busy plaza and other major tourist locations to lesser known sites along quiet, old Santa Fe streets.