Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument

Significant dates

Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
U.S. National Monument
N.M. State Register of Cultural Properties

Salinas Pueblo ruins
Show map of New Mexico Show map of the US
Nearest city	Gran Quivira, New Mexico
Coordinates	34°15′35″N 106°5′25″W / 34.25972°N 106.09028°W / 34.25972; -106.09028Coordinates: 34°15′35″N 106°5′25″W / 34.25972°N 106.09028°W / 34.25972; -106.09028
Area	1,076.9 acres (435.8 ha)
Built	16291629 (1629)
Visitation	34,810 (2005)
Website	Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
NRHP Reference #	66000494^[1]
NMSRCP #	64
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NMON	November 1, 1909
Designated NMSRCP	May 21, 1971

The Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico, near Mountainair. The main park visitor center is in Mountainair.

History

Once, thriving Native American trade communities of Tiwa and Tompiro language-speaking Puebloans inhabited this remote frontier area of central New Mexico. Early in the 17th century Spanish Franciscans found the area ripe for their missionary efforts. However, by the late 1670s the entire Salinas District, as the Spanish had named it, was depopulated of both Indian and Spaniard. What remains today are austere yet beautiful reminders of this earliest contact between Pueblo Indians and Spanish Colonials: the ruins of three mission churches, at Quarai, Abó, and Gran Quivira and the partially excavated pueblo of Las Humanas or, as it is known today, the Gran Quivira pueblo.

It was first proclaimed Gran Quivira National Monument on November 1, 1909. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the National Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. On December 19, 1980 it was enlarged and two New Mexico State Monuments were absorbed into it on November 2, 1981. It was renamed on October 28, 1988.

Quarai Ruins

The Quarai Ruins are located about 8 miles north of Mountainair, at about 6650 feet (2026 m) above sea level. There is a visitor center and a 0.5 mile (0.8 km) trail through the ruins.

Abó Ruins

Gran Quivira Ruins

The Gran Quivira Ruins are located about 25 miles south of Mountainair, at about 6500 feet (1981 m) above sea level. There is a small visitor center near the parking lot. A 0.5 mile (0.8 km) trail leads through partially excavated pueblo ruins and the ruins of the uncompleted mission church.

“

The Gran Quivira, as it has been called for over a hundred years, is by far the best known of the Salinas pueblos, and in fact is one of the most celebrated ruins in all of the Southwest. This is not strange, as it is altogether the largest ruin of any Christian temple that exists in the United States; and connected with it from the first, there has been the glamor of romance and the strange charm of mystery, which adds tenfold to ordinary interest.

How and when it first received its deceptive title of “Gran Quivira” we may never know; there are dozens of traditions and theories and imaginings. From the days of Coronado the name of “Quivira” had been associated with the idea of a great unknown city, of wealth and splendor, situated somewhere on the Eastern Plains; and it is not at all unlikely that when some party from the Rio Grande Valley, in search of game or gold, crossed the mountains and the wilderness lying to the east, and was suddenly amazed by the apparition of a dead city, silent and tenantless, but bearing the evidences of large population, of vast resources, of architectural knowledge, mechanical skill, and wonderful energy, they should have associated with it the stories heard from childhood of the mythical center of riches and power, and called the new-found wonder the Gran Quivira.^[2]

”

Gallery

Quarai Mission Church in Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, New Mexico
Mission ruins at Quarai
Mission ruins at Abó
Pueblo and mission ruins at Gran Quivira
A map of the 17th century pueblos in the Salinas area including the three surviving ruins in the National Monument: Quarai, Abo, and Gran Quivira

References

↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
↑ Prince, L. Bradford (1915). Spanish Mission Churches of New Mexico. Cedar Rapids, IA: The Torch Press. pp. 355–356. ISBN 0-87380-126-1. Retrieved 2008-12-02.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mountainair.

U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by states	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated states	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia Morocco
Portal

Protected areas of New Mexico
National Parks	Carlsbad Caverns
National Historical Parks	Chaco Culture Manhattan Project Pecos
National Monuments	Aztec Ruins Bandelier Capulin Volcano El Malpais El Morro Fort Union Gila Cliff Dwellings Petroglyph Salinas Pueblo Missions White Sands
National Trails	El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Old Spanish Trail Santa Fe Trail
National Forests	Apache-Sitgreaves Carson Cibola Coronado Gila Lincoln Santa Fe
National Grasslands	Kiowa
National Wildlife Refuges	Bitter Lake Bosque del Apache Grulla Las Vegas Maxwell San Andres Sevilleta
National Conservation Areas	El Malpais Fort Stanton – Snowy River Cave
BLM National Monuments	Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Prehistoric Trackways Rio Grande del Norte
National Natural Landmarks	See List of National Natural Landmarks in New Mexico
National Preserves	Valles Caldera
Wilderness	Aldo Leopold Apache Kid Bandelier Bisti/De-Na-Zin Blue Range Bosque del Apache Capitan Mountains Carlsbad Caverns Cebolla Chama River Canyon Columbine-Hondo Cruces Basin Dome Gila Latir Peak Manzano Mountain Ojito Pecos Sabinoso Salt Creek San Pedro Parks Sandia Mountain West Malpais Wheeler Peak White Mountain Withington
State Parks	Bluewater Lake Bottomless Lakes Brantley Lake Caballo Lake Cerrillos Hills Cimarron Canyon City of Rocks Clayton Lake Conchas Lake Coyote Creek Eagle Nest Lake El Vado Lake Elephant Butte Lake Fenton Lake Heron Lake Hyde Memorial Leasburg Dam Living Desert Zoo and Gardens Manzano Mountains Mesilla Valley Bosque Morphy Lake Navajo Lake Oasis Oliver Lee Memorial Pancho Villa Percha Dam Rio Grande Nature Center Rockhound Santa Rosa Lake Storrie Lake Sugarite Canyon Sumner Lake Ute Lake Vietnam Veterans Memorial Villanueva

National Monuments of the United States

Full Detailed List

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.