Humans have impacted and transformed the high desert mountains, river valleys and buffalo plains of New Mexico for centuries, harvesting water for crops and shelter, celebrating life in ritual and ceremony, making landscapes sacred and special.
- Posts: 28 -
Derrick Floor & Oilfield Pioneers – Oil Patch Plaza
Southeast Region: Artesia
Constructed 2004. Artesia MainStreet commissioned sculptor Vic Payne to create a life-size sculpture of a “Derrick Floor” drilling rig featuring a four-man crew. The 125 percent life-size sculpture puts the emphasis on the individuals who built the oil patch. A landscaped plaza, featuring a relaxing fountain, trees, decorative brick work, Read more…
Downtown Truth or Consequences sidewalks
Southwest Region: Truth or Consequences
Constructed 1940. Downtown Truth or Consequences Truth or Consequences, NM 87901
Gallinas River
North Region: Las Vegas
The Gallinas River flows out of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains from the Pecos Wilderness Area located between Las Vegas and Santa Fe. The Gallinas runs south to join the Pecos River near Anton Chico. The Gallinas nourishes the rich meadow and pasture lands from which the community of Las Read more…
Goat Hill
Northeast Region: Raton
Goat Hill is considered a cultural landscape for its association with the Santa Fe Trail. From the hill’s expansive overlook, the lower end of Railroad Canyon, the Raton group of mesas and multiple volcanic peaks can be seen. This includes a ten-mile portion of the Mountain Route of the Santa Read more…
Goodnight-Loving Trail
Northeast Region: Harding County
The Goodnight-Loving Trail (sometimes known simply as the Goodnight Trail) ran from Young County, TX, southwest to Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River, up the Pecos to Fort Sumner, NM, and on into Colorado. In 1866, Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving drove a first herd of longhorn cattle over the Read more…
Ice House Memorial
North Region: Los Alamos
Today a memorial stands at the site of the Ranch School Ice House. During WWII, the nuclear core of the “Gadget” (the prototype atomic bomb) was assembled here and then transported to Trinity Site, 220 miles south near Socorro, NM. It was successfully detonated on July 16, 1945. During the Read more…
Kit Carson Gravesite
North Region: Taos
Constructed 1868. The gravesite of Kit Carson and his wife, Josephine, is located in what is today known as the Kit Carson Memorial Park. The cemetery was originally established in 1847 and called El Cemeterio Militar. After the Carsons were buried there, it was renamed the Kit Carson Cemetery. The Read more…
Lincoln Park Historic District
North Region: Las Vegas
Constructed 1890 Lincoln Park was one of two municipal parks platted in the City of East Las Vegas after the railroad steamed into the town on July 4, 1879. Lincoln Park’s close proximity to the railroad district two blocks away made it a popular location for housing for Santa Fe Read more…
Main Street Sidewalks – WPA Stamps
Northeast Region: Clayton
Constructed 1942. A WPA stamp in the sidewalk can be found at this address and along Main Street. The downtown sidewalks will soon be replaced in a NM Department of Transportation construction project, but the WPA stamps will be preserved and placed in the new sidewalks. 10 Main St. | Read more…
Pecos River and Pecos River Flume
Southeast Region: Carlsbad
Constructed 1903. The Pecos River, and particularly a structure called “The Flume,” are central to the history of the City of Carlsbad. In the 1860s, cattle drives moved from Texas up the river, taking livestock north. In 1887, Charles B. Eddy built the Halagueno diversion ditch on the Pecos River Read more…