Ocate, New Mexico – On the Santa Fe Trail – Legends of America
Nestled in the northeastern reaches of New Mexico, in the heart of Mora County, lies Ocate, an unincorporated community steeped in history and cultural fusion. Once a bustling stop along the legendary Santa Fe Trail, Ocate whispers tales of Native American heritage, Spanish colonial influence, and Mexican traditions. Though time has weathered its prominence, this historic locale retains a captivating charm that beckons travelers to explore its rich past.
A Tapestry of Cultures: The Early Inhabitants
Before the arrival of European settlers, the lands surrounding Ocate served as a hunting ground and migratory route for various nomadic Native American tribes. The Navajo, Ute, Kiowa, Comanche, and Northern Apache roamed these plains, their presence marked by temporary encampments and a deep connection to the land. Unlike these transient groups, the Tewa, a Puebloan people, established more permanent settlements, constructing adobe homes that echoed their enduring presence.
The very name "Ocate" is believed to originate from the Tewa language, translating to "port of the air" or "valley of the wind." These evocative descriptions perfectly capture the essence of the area, where a relentless wind sweeps through the valley, shaping the landscape and influencing the lives of its inhabitants.
Spanish Exploration and the Dawn of Settlement
Between 1540 and 1821, Spanish expeditions ventured into the northeastern territories of New Mexico, yet the Ocate-Mora region remained largely untouched by their presence. Throughout the 18th century, the Ute, Comanche, and other tribes fiercely defended their ancestral lands, launching relentless attacks on Spanish settlements to repel the encroaching intruders. This resistance made the area an uninviting prospect for Spanish colonists.
However, in 1786, a turning point arrived when the Comanche and the Spanish forged a peace treaty, ushering in an era of relative tranquility. With the threat of Indian raids diminished, Spanish and Mexican colonists began to establish settlements in the region.
The late 1700s witnessed the rise of the first Spanish-European settlements in the Rio Grande Valley, with communities like Trampas, Embudo, and Picuris emerging as self-sufficient outposts. These settlements, geographically isolated from Mexico, relied on their resourcefulness and resilience to thrive. Although caravans occasionally traversed Mexican trade routes, these journeys were arduous and infrequent.
Following the establishment of the Mora Land Grant in 1835, rural Spanish-American farming villages sprouted wherever fertile land and water sources could be found in the valley foothills. Within a few years, nearly every river and tributary was adorned with these small, close-knit communities.
Ocate and the Santa Fe Trail: A Crossroads of Commerce
In 1821, William Becknell blazed the Santa Fe Trail, forging a vital artery connecting Missouri and Kansas to New Mexico. This trail became the lifeblood of commerce, facilitating the flow of goods from the East and transforming Santa Fe into a bustling trade hub. The Santa Fe Trail branched into two primary routes: the Mountain Branch and the Cimarron Cutoff.
The Mountain Branch followed the Arkansas River westward through Kansas, veering southwest at Bent’s Fort in Colorado before entering New Mexico at Raton. From there, it meandered through Rayado, Ocate Crossing, Fort Union, Watrous, and finally culminated in Santa Fe.
Ocate Creek Crossing emerged as a crucial river crossing, particularly during and after the Civil War. In April 1846, General Stephen W. Kearny’s Army of the West traversed this crossing, establishing a camp nearby. Early travelers documented their experiences at the site in journals and writings. Lieutenant Abert recounted how his party was compelled to journey two miles upstream, skirting the edge of Apache Hill, to discover a passable crossing on the Ocate River. During Kearny’s crossing, his advance guard encountered Mexicans from Mora, suspected of being spies, who were promptly sent back to Mora with a message requesting a meeting with the alcalde.
The Army of the West played a pivotal role in improving the Mountain Route of the Trail, rendering it more accessible to wagons and boosting traffic along this segment.
In 1866, a Barlow-Sanderson Company stage station, known as Calhoun’s Crossing, stood on the south side of Ocate Creek. This seven-room station included a hotel. Legend has it that Wild Bill Hickok himself drove a stagecoach over Raton Pass for the company. Regrettably, no remnants of the stage station remain today. The crossing continued to serve travelers until the Santa Fe Trail’s closure in 1879, following the completion of the railroad.
Today, the Ocate Creek Crossing lies on a private ranch, approximately five to six miles east of the village of Ocate. Remarkably, wagon ruts are still visible on both sides of the crossing.
A secondary route, the Ocate Trail, veered northwest from Ocate Crossing, passing through the town of Ocate into Manueles Canyon, onward to Black Lake, and eventually reaching Taos. Ocate served as a vital exchange point for merchandise and goods transported by wagons. Some goods were dispatched along the Ocate Trail to Taos, while the remaining cargo continued its journey to Santa Fe. From Ocate, the route to Santa Fe wound between Cerro Pelon and El Corral de los Apaches before turning south toward Fort Union and Las Vegas.
Conflict and Transition: The Impact of American Expansion
The peaceful coexistence between the Spanish and the Comanche, fostered by the 1786 treaty, shattered when the Americans assumed control of the region in 1846. This transition ignited resentment among the frontier peoples, culminating in the Taos Revolt of 1847. Indian raids intensified, targeting travelers and settlers, and tensions escalated throughout northern New Mexico. The American Army launched several attacks to quell the revolt in Mora.
In 1851, Fort Union was established to suppress Indian attacks and quell uprisings by local Hispanic populations against the newly established American presence. Besides maintaining order, the fort provided a ready market for agricultural products and livestock produced by the local Spanish-American population. Some locals also found employment at the post. Over time, Anglo-Americans and European immigrants acquired land from Spanish-American residents or settled on the Mora Grant land near the fort.
However, the situation deteriorated in the 1860s as many army units stationed at Fort Union were redeployed to join the Union armies in the East during the Civil War.
The region’s economy was primarily based on small-scale agriculture and livestock raising, with sheep grazing on the common lands of the grant. Young men, known as ciboleros, hunted buffalo on the Plains each fall, while others, known as Comancheros, established trade networks with the Comanche. This latter practice, which initially involved surplus products but later expanded to include stolen Texas cattle, led to the suppression of this trade in the late 1870s by Anglo ranchers who suffered significant stock losses due to Comanche raids.
Ocate gained a post office on January 10, 1870.
Following the Red River War of 1874, Indian raids diminished, making new economic ventures safer. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad arrived in the region in 1879, effectively ending traffic on the Santa Fe Trail.
Mora County transformed into a significant stock-raising region, with vast herds of sheep and cattle. Despite Ocate’s importance as a stop on the railroad for agricultural trade, the railroad also facilitated tourism to the West, leading to a sharp decline in Ocate’s population.
With the area pacified, Fort Union was deemed unnecessary and abandoned in 1891.
Ocate in the 20th Century: Change and Resilience
As time passed, the grant lands were divided, drought plagued the region, sheep raising became less profitable, and cattle ranchers encroached on former sheepherding rangeland. Ranchers recognized the quicker profits offered by cattle and shifted their focus accordingly. Sheep ranges gradually diminished, supporting fewer sheep.
In the early 20th century, many residents of the Ocate area continued to earn a living through farming and sheep raising. Farms cultivated a variety of crops, including wheat, Indian corn, American corn, oats, peas, beans, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, and fruits such as apples, cherries, peaches, plums, and pears.
In 1906, French immigrant Nathan Weil established a crossroads store in Ocate, providing a wide array of goods. At the time, Ocate boasted three other mercantile establishments and several other businesses. Weil also served as the village postmaster and notary public. His store quickly became the region’s political and social hub. As his business thrived, he also managed a large livestock operation on the fertile pastures of Mora County and became a prominent trader in cattle, sheep, and wool. He also played a role in organizing and directing local banks in nearby towns such as Las Vegas, Springer, and Wagon Mound.
In 1938, after 40 years of merchandising in Ocate, Weil closed his store during the Great Depression and dedicated his remaining years to his ranching interests. The store building remained vacant until a few years after World War II when John P. Strong, a former commercial rival and descendant of one of Ocate’s first Anglo families, purchased it as a replacement for his burned-down store. The Strongs had operated various mercantile enterprises in Mora County for years. They continued to run the business until selling it to a long-time employee, Donaciano Mondragon, in 1960. Mondragon continued the operation for another 14 years until it closed in 1974.
The adobe brick building, topped by a corrugated metal pitched roof, still stands in Ocate and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is located at the intersection of State Highways 21 and 120.
Across the street stands another historic property: the Narciso Valdez House. Built between 1895 and 1898, this one-and-a-half-story adobe house showcases Queen Anne style, particularly in its interior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
By the 1930s, many men from northern New Mexico had migrated to work in Colorado sugar beet fields or commercial ranches in Montana, Utah, or Wyoming.
Ocate Today: A Glimpse into the Past
Today, this small village, overshadowed by the rocky slopes of Gallinas Mesa, comprises a scattering of buildings along the south bank of Ocate Creek. It still maintains a post office and a Catholic Church.
Ocate is located northwest of Wagon Mound, New Mexico, at the intersection of State Roads 120 and 442. The cemetery lies northeast of the intersection, south of the housing, and in the middle of the field.
Ocate stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of the American West, a place where history whispers through the wind-swept valleys, inviting visitors to step back in time and discover the legends of the Santa Fe Trail.