Pecos National Historic Park, New Mexico
Pecos National Historical Park, a sprawling tapestry of history and natural beauty nestled in the heart of New Mexico, stands as a testament to the diverse cultures and pivotal events that have shaped the American Southwest. Located along the path of the historic Santa Fe Trail, this park safeguards a rich collection of archaeological sites, architectural ruins, and landscapes that whisper tales of ancient Puebloan life, Spanish colonization, westward expansion, and Civil War conflict. From the remnants of the majestic Pecos Pueblo to the hallowed grounds of the Glorieta Pass Battlefield, Pecos National Historical Park offers a captivating journey through time.
The park’s boundaries encompass over 6,000 acres, protecting the fragile remnants of the Pecos Pueblo, a once-thriving community that served as a crucial crossroads for trade and cultural exchange. Within its borders, one can explore the imposing ruins of a Spanish Mission church, a stark reminder of the clash between indigenous traditions and European influence. The rolling hills and forested canyons also bear witness to the Battle of Glorieta Pass, a decisive engagement in the Civil War that determined the fate of the Southwest. The Pecos National Historic Park also preserves segments of the Santa Fe Trail, etched into the landscape by the countless wagon trains that traversed this vital trade route. Finally, the park shelters the remnants of 19th-century ranches, echoes of a more recent chapter in the region’s vibrant past.
The Pueblo of Pecos: A Crossroads of Culture
Long before the arrival of Europeans, the Pecos River Valley was home to a thriving Puebloan community known as Cicuye. Around 1100 A.D., these early inhabitants began constructing villages of rock and mud along the riverbanks. Over the next three centuries, the village grew and prospered, eventually evolving into a five-storied complex that housed over 2,000 people. The Pecos Indians, as they came to be known, were an advanced tribe with a deep connection to the land and a sophisticated understanding of agriculture, religion, and architecture. The Pecos National Historic Park protects the remnants of this Puebloan culture.
Like their Ancient Puebloan ancestors, the Pecos Indians relied on farming to sustain their community. Utilizing agricultural techniques originating in Mexico, they cultivated corn, beans, and squash, which formed the cornerstone of their diet. To ensure a stable food supply, they built storerooms to preserve food for the winter months and constructed dams to regulate the flow of water to their crops. Their architectural prowess is evident in the multi-story houses built above the storerooms, crafted from adobe bricks and fortified by a large protective wall that, according to Spanish accounts, was visible from a great distance.
Central to the Pecos culture were the kivas, subterranean pit houses used for religious and ceremonial purposes. These structures, typically circular in shape with a hole in the floor, represented a connection to the underworld, the place of origin for the Pecos people and other Pueblo tribes. Through ceremonies and offerings, the Pecos prayed to the spirits of the underworld, seeking good fortune and maintaining balance in their world. The Pecos National Historic Park allows visitors to experience the sacred nature of these Kivas.
The Pecos Pueblo served as a vital trading hub, connecting the Pueblo farmers of the Rio Grande Valley with the nomadic Plains Indians who roamed the buffalo plains. At trade fairs, Plains tribes such as the Apache exchanged slaves, buffalo hides, flint, and shells for pottery, crops, textiles, and turquoise from the Pecos River Pueblos. By the late Pueblo period, the Pecos Pueblo had become a regional power, commanding respect from neighboring communities.
Encounters with the Spanish: Colonization and Conflict
The arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century marked a turning point in the history of the Pecos Pueblo. In 1540, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led an expedition into New Spain’s northern frontier in search of the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. After encountering and clashing with the Zuni pueblos near present-day Gallup, New Mexico, Coronado and his men reached the village of Cicuye, later named Pecos by the Spanish.
Unlike the hostile reception Coronado received from the Zuni, the Pecos Indians welcomed the Spaniards with music and gifts. However, this initial goodwill would eventually give way to conflict as the Spanish sought to colonize the Pueblo lands and convert the inhabitants to Christianity.
In 1598, Don Juan de Onate led a group of settlers and Franciscan missionaries into New Mexico, claiming the land for Spain. A friar was assigned to the Pecos Pueblo, but the early Spanish missionaries faced resistance from the Pecos people. After episodes of idol-smashing provoked Indian resentment, the Franciscans sent veteran missionary Fray Andrés Juárez to Pecos in 1621. Under his guidance, the Pecos built an adobe church south of the pueblo, a testament to the ambitious mission period that transformed New Mexico into a royal colony.
However, the success of the Spanish missions bred conflict as church and civil officials competed for the Pueblo Indians’ labor, tribute, and loyalty. This tension eventually led to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, in which Indians from scattered pueblos united to drive the Spaniards back to Mexico. At Pecos, loyal Indians warned the local priest, but most followed a tribal elder in revolt, killing the priest and destroying the church. The Spanish would not return to Pecos for another 12 years. The Pecos National Historic Park stands as a reminder of the turbulent relations between the Spanish and the Pueblo people.
In 1692, Diego de Vargas visited Pecos, expecting a fight. Instead, he was met with a warm welcome and the Indians’ willingness to assist the Spaniards in reclaiming the American Southwest. The tribe accepted him and supplied 140 warriors to help retake Santa Fe, New Mexico. A smaller church, built on the old one’s ruins, was the first mission reestablished after the Reconquest. As allies and traders, the Pecos became partners in a relaxed Spanish-Pueblo community. This serene environment lasted until the 1780s, when disease and Comanche raids decimated the Pecos population. Longstanding internal divisions between those loyal to the Church and Spanish leaders versus those who clung to the old ways may have contributed to the decline. The function of Pecos as a trade center faded as Spanish colonists, now protected from the Comanche by treaties, established new towns to the east.
The Santa Fe Trail and the Civil War
With the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail trade in 1821, Pecos and the mission seemed almost ghostly. The old trail brought thousands of travelers heading west, including trappers, traders, Gold Rush seekers, adventurers, the U.S. military, and everyday Americans across this portion of New Mexico. Kozlowski’s stage station was an important stop along the trail. Santa Fe Trail ruts can still be seen in the park. In 1838, the last survivors left the decaying pueblo and empty mission church and joined their Towa-speaking relatives 80 miles west at Jemez Pueblo, where their descendants still live.
During the Civil War, the Confederate plan for the West was to raise a force in Texas, march up the Rio Grande, take Santa Fe, turn northeast on the Santa Fe Trail, capture the stores at Fort Union, head up to Colorado to capture the goldfields, and then turn west to take California. It was intended as the killer blow by Confederate forces to break the Union possession of the West along the base of the Rocky Mountains.
On March 26, 1862, Union and Confederate forces met at Glorieta Pass near the Pecos Pueblo. The battle raged for two days, and although the Confederates were able to push the Union force back through the pass, they had to retreat when their supply train was destroyed and most of their horses and mules killed or driven off. Eventually, the Confederates had to withdraw entirely from the territory back into Confederate Arizona and then Texas. Glorieta Pass thus represented the climax of the campaign. The Pecos National Historic Park is a testament to this important battle.
Preservation and Legacy
The Pecos Pueblo and an area of 341 acres were made a New Mexico State Monument in 1935. In 1965, it was made a National Monument and turned over to the National Park Service. In 1991, the park was expanded to more than 6,000 acres and became a National Historic Park.
Today, the park displays the history of those who came before, from nomadic tribes to pithouse dwellers, the remains of the Indian pueblo and mission, the site of the Battle of Glorieta Pass, and Santa Fe Trail history. The weathered adobe walls of the Spanish church share a ridge with the Pueblo ruins, which extend for a quarter-mile along a ridge in a valley shared by the Glorieta Creek and the Pecos River. Visitors to the park can climb down into two kivas, the ceremonial and social spaces that the Pecos Indians believed allowed them closer communion with the underworld spirits. Guided tours of the original structure of the old mission are one of the key attractions in the park. Tourists can also see the ruins by following the self-guided trail to parts of the Pecos Pueblo, the Mission Church, and the two reconstructed kivas.
The Park is also the site of the Forked Lightning Ranch House, made famous by its occupants: Tex Austin, "Daddy of the Rodeo," oilman and rancher E.E. "Buddy" Fogelson, and his wife, actress Greer Garson. Visitors can also see the Kozlowski Trading Post, popular during the days of the Santa Fe Trail. On New Mexico Highway 50, the old site of Pigeon’s Ranch stands west of Pecos and the Glorieta Battlefield.
Pecos National Historical Park stands as a monument to the enduring legacy of the Pecos people, the Spanish colonists, and the countless individuals who have shaped the history of the American Southwest. Through its preservation efforts and interpretive programs, the park ensures that the stories of the past continue to resonate with present and future generations.
Pecos National Historical Park is 25 miles southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico, off Interstate 25.