Santa Fe New Mexican - CONNECT
SANTA FE COMMUNITY PROFILE
SHistory
anta Fe means “holy faith.” The city’s official name, given to it by Spanish settlers in 1608, is La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís. Santa Fe boasts the title of the oldest capital city in the United States. Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, the area was already inhabited by Puebloan peoples, who revolted against the Spanish in 1680. In 1692, Don Diego de Vargas reclaimed the land for the Spanish. In 1712, the Santa Fe Fiesta was established to commemorate this reconquest. The tradition of Fiesta remains to this day, celebrated in September.
By 1822, trade caravans were traveling along the
Santa Fe Trail. At the end of the trail sits the Palace of the Governors, which has flown four different flags throughout its history representing Spain, Mexico, the Confederacy and the
United States. In 1860, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad set out to expand into New Mexico from Kansas.
Route 66 figures prominently in New Mexico. For many people traveling this road during its heyday, New Mexico revealed the exotic cultures of the Southwest. New Mexico presented the adventure of discovery — from Indian pueblos predating European colonization to the Santa Fe Plaza, which bustled with the activity of commerce before there was even a United States.
In 1850, New Mexico became a U.S. territory. It signed in as the 47th State in 1912. In the 1920s, Santa Fe became a thriving art colony and Indian art market. In the 1940s, Los Alamos became home to the Manhattan Project and many world-renowned scientists. Since then it has been important to the New Mexico economy as a scientific and technological research center. In the 1970s, Santa Fe became known as a center for alternative healing. Due to its colorful history and its unique cultural traditions, food and architecture, Santa Fe is affectionately called the City Different.
Just a few landmarks that tell the history of Santa Fe are the St. Francis Basilica, the Miraculous Staircase in the Loretto Chapel, the San Miguel Mission, the Oldest House in the United States and the Palace of the Governors. The Santa Fe Chamber invites everyone to visit them and the other historical locations in the downtown area and the rest of the city.