NMPedia

AKA: Gadsden Treaty. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 established some of the borders between Mexican and American lands, the exact southern border of New Mexico remained controversial. The best route for the Transcontinental Railroad was across land in Mexican control; U.S. Minister to Mexico (and railroader) James Gadsden arranged the purchase of land from Mexico for $10 million, establishing the current border. The move was unpopular in Mexico and helped led to the unseating of Santa Anna as dictator; Gadsden was recalled as Minister, perhaps for overstepping his authority.
State Historian webpage on the Gadsden Purchase

Village 18 miles outside of Santa Fe, formed in 1880 when the "Santa Fe Branch Line" met the AT&SF main railroad. Later renamed Lamy, in honor of Archbishop Lamy who helped arrange land for the town, Galisteo Junction gained a reputation as a "wild little town" in Territorial days. As the link from the Santa Fe Railway to the town of Santa Fe, Lamy gained a Harvey House hotel, the El Ortiz. Lamy was also the site of an "airship" sighting on March 26 1880, the "Galisteo UFO".

March 26 1880. Reported sighting of an aerial vehicle, variously described as an "airship" and a "strange balloon", over the town of Galisteo Junction (now known as Lamy). Witnesses said the fish-shaped propeller-driven vehicle held "ten or so" occupants laughing and speaking in an unknown language; the tale includes "Asian" items being dropped from the vehicle. There are various versions regarding the descriptions of the nature of the items and what became of them; most involve a mysterious collector who appeared soon after the event and purchased the items. Such airship sightings were not uncommon nationwide in the late 1800s, the precursor to flying saucer UFO stories. The newspaper report of the Galisteo UFO has been challenged as a hoax, as such tall tales were sometimes used to spark newspaper sales in the Old West.

Yearly celebration in Gallup since 1921, typically in early August, "a coming together of Native Americans for the purpose of sharing their culture, friendship and to see family." The event draws tribal members from around North America and features parades, rodeos, arts and crafts exhibitions, and a Pow Wow with drumming and dances. Recently added elements include a film festival and wine tasting. There are also arts and crafts for sale, and the event draws large numbers of tourists each year.
Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial website

(1885-1947) Roswell. Composer of O Fair New Mexico, the state song. Blind since birth; studied music in New York and Chicago and gave concerts around the country as the "Songbird of the Southwest". Taught at the New Mexico School for the Blind in Alamogordo. Friend to Helen Keller. Daughter to lawman Pat Garrett. Biography: A Place of Her Own - the story of Elizabeth Garrett.

(1850-1908) Patrick Floyd Garrett. Killed near Las Cruces, likely over a dispute involving grazing rights on some land Garrett leased. Serving variously as a lawman, customs agent, and saloon owner, he became renowned as the man who killed Billy the Kid. In his career he served as Sheriff in Dona Ana County and Lincoln County.
State Historian webpage on Pat Garrett

(1904-1996) Singer and actress. In 1949 married oilman and rancher Elijah Edwin "Buddy" Fogelson, who owned the Forked Lightning Ranch along the Pecos River in New Mexico. The Fogelsons supported the arts in New Mexico, Texas, and California, including establishing the Greer Carson Theater and the E.E. Fogelson Library at the College of Santa Fe. Part of the Forked Lightning Ranch was later donated to become part of the Pecos National Historic Park, and the Greer Garson Theater is now part of the Garson Studio complex used for film productions.

Took a leave of absence from Harvard to come to Albuquerque in 1975, where he founded Microsoft with Paul Allen. The company moved to Seattle in 1979. Gates is one of the richest and most influential businessmen in the world.

AKA: Gokliya, Goyathlay, Goyahkla, Goyaale, "One Who Yawns", "The Yawner". (1829-1909) Apache war leader during the Apache Wars. Geronimo led raids in Mexico then later across Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. In 1885 Geronimo and Chiefs Natchez and Mangas Coloradas left the reservation and began raiding throughout southern New Mexico; soldiers under General Nelson Miles, military commander of New Mexico, forced them into Mexico and there accepted their surrender. Geronimo became a celebrity as a symbol of the Old West, making public appearances, but died in captivity at Fort Sill Oklahoma.

See Alamogordo Roadside Pistachio

See Las Cruces Roadrunner Sculpture

Cliff dwellings in five caves, occupied approx. 700 years ago. The Monument is in the Gila National Forest, west of Silver City.
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument website

Held in Silver City in September to celebrate the environment and community of the Gila River valley and the Gila National Forest.
Gila River Festival website.

Santa Fe, Taos. Noted folk musician with more than two dozen albums; two-time Grammy Award nominee.

Two short tunnels adjacent to one another through the Guadalupe Box canyon, along NM Hwy 485 which intersects NM 4 between Jemez Pueblo and Jemez Springs. Constructed in the 1920s the tunnels hosted a rail line to logging in the north; a tall trestle bridge approached the tunnels from the south. After the rail lines were removed the roadbed was changed to allow logging using trucks. The tunnels and the striking Guadalupe Box canyon have been featured in several films.

AKA: Glorieta Mountain meteorites, Glorieta pallasites. A "strewn field" first identified in 1884 near Canoncito. Meteorites found from this fall have a high percentage of pallasites - metallic meteorites with "stained glass" olivine crystal inclusions - as well as siderites. Glorieta meteorites, especially the pallasites, are highly prized by collectors. While the bulk of the fall is believed to have been found meteorite hunters still sweep the area with metal detectors, hampered by rugged terrain and patches of private property.

(1882-1945) Scientist, inventor, physicist. Credited with launching the first liquid fuel rocket, in 1926. Moved to an area near Roswell in 1930 where he could safely and privately pursue his researches, and where the climate was better for him after an earlier episode of tuberculosis. Pursued liquid-fuel rocketry, with a goal of high altitude and eventually space flight; credited with developing much of the basic technology for rockets. Received 214 patents, many after his death. A recreation of his workshop is housed at the Roswell Museum and Art Center in the Robert H. Goddard Wing. The Robert H. Goddard High School in Roswell and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland are named in his honor.
New Mexico Historian page on Robert Goddard

Spanish mines in the Ortiz Mountains constitute some of the oldest gold mines in North America; a rush to these "Old Placers" occurred in 1828 (long before the California Gold Rush), and the "New Placers" were discovered nearby in 1839. (Much of the gold found in New Mexico is in placer form -- fine grains distributed throughout gravels.) Despite having limited water available for processing, New Mexico produced an estimated 662,000 ounces of gold between 1828 and 1991, primarily from the Ortiz Mountains, the Elizabethtown area, and from Hillsboro. Placer gold is present in some of the gravels of the Rio Grande, but recovery has not proven financially feasible.

AKA: La Doctora. (1917-1975) Educator and pioneer in bilingual education. Born in Springer. Degrees from Columbia University and Pennsylvania State University. Professor at UNM. Dolores Gonzales Elementary School in Albuquerque named in her honor.

Reverend of the Baptist Mission Society who came to Laguna Pueblo with his wife Catherine in 1852 as the first Protestant missionary to the Pueblos.

See White Caps

See New Mexico Military Institute

The U.S. Army occupied New Mexico in 1846. Military governors were sometimes assisted by civilian governors.

Military governors:

• General Stephen W. Kearny, 1846-1847
• Colonel Sterling Price, 1847-1848
• Lieutenant Colonel John M. Washington, 1848-1849
• Colonel John Munroe, 1849-1851

Civilian governors:

• Charles Bent,1846-1847
• Donaciano Vigil, 1848-1849
• Henry Connelly, Jun-Sep 1850

Race between A. Rush Bowe's Dude and Jas Moore's Perico, that was scheduled for Christmas Day 1886 in Fairview (now known as Winston). The Race was the subject of much research focus when it was featured in a nationwide trivia scavenger hunt in 2010.

AKA: Highway 66. 1940 film, directed by John Ford and based on the book by John Steinbeck; scenes shot in Gallup, Laguna Pueblo and Santa Rosa. Starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, and John Carradine. Six Academy Award nominations and two Oscars won, for Best Director and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jane Darwell).

See Deming Duck Race

May 24, 1898. Robbers "Bronco Bill" Walters and "Kid" Johnson stopped the train south of Albuquerque; when they moved to blow up the safe in the baggage car, the agent begged them to throw it off the train before they used the explosives. The outlaws removed approx. $50,000, including several heavy bags of coins, then set off across the mesa west of Belen. A posse organized in Belen soon set off after the men, forcing them to bury the bags of coins as they fled. The lawmen confronted the robbers near Puertocito; the ensuing shootout left two lawmen and a Navajo tracker dead. The outlaws were brought to bay two months later in Arizona, where Kid Johnson was killed and Bronco Bill injured and sent to prison. Belen area legend says that coins from the robbery still wait to be found.

See World's Greatest Lizard Race

Interruption in the geological record that is visually plainly apparent in the layers on the face of the north Sandia Mountains. In the Sandias 300 million-year-old limestone deposits are directly atop much older granite; this unconformity is "great" because it represents a gap in the rock record of 1.1 billion years. The gap is believed to be due to erosion of softer materials above the granite before the formation of the limestone.

AKA: New Mexico burger, GCCB, "chile cheeser". The name describes the ingredients. This menu item has become so much a part of New Mexico cuisine that there are competitions among restaurants as to who has the best. Some leading contenders are the Owl Bar & Cafe (San Antonio, with a branch in Albuquerque), the Buckhorn Tavern (also in San Antonio, across the road from the Owl Bar), ABQ Brew Pub (Albuquerque), Badlands Burgers & Tortas (Grants), Sparky's Burgers Barbecue & Espresso (Hatch), Frontier Restaurant (Albuquerque), Benny's Mexican Kitchen (Bosque Farms), El Farolito (El Rito), Willard Cantina & Cafe (Willard), Ancient Way Cafe (Ramah), Sugar's BBQ & Burgers (Embudo), Plaza Cafe Southside (Santa Fe), Rockin' BZ Burgers (Alamogordo), and the Blake's Lotaburger chain around Albuquerque.

Bright green "fireballs" seen in the skies above New Mexico in the late 1940s. The phenomena were so active around installations such as Sandia and Los Alamos Labs that the government commissioned several investigations; 1949's Project Sign involved world-class scientists, many of whom had themselves witnessed the phenomenon. Some of the eyewitness reports suggested that the fireballs did not move as meteors would, and that the color was distinctively atypical from normal meteor reports. Dr. Lincoln LaPaz, founder of the Institute of Meteoritics at UNM, did research on the phenomena including triangulation to try to recover fallen materials. No solid conclusions were reached as to the cause; occasional sightings continue to this day.

(1896-1970) Reached the rank of Lieutenant General; with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, noted for overseeing the building of the Pentagon and the Manhattan Project. Involved in the selection of Los Alamos as a development site for atomic weapons. Headed the Manhattan Project until control was handed over to the Atomic Energy Commission in 1947, whereupon he took command of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project.

Grew up in Santa Fe, graduate of Santa Fe Preparatory School. Actor with numerous film and TV credits including Deadwood and Breaking Bad for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

(1951-) Sidney Gutierrez; born in Albuquerque. Astronaut; first native New Mexican to command a Space Shuttle mission. Flew two Shuttle missions totaling over 20 days in space. After retiring from NASA worked for Sandia Labs; served on several committees involving the New Mexico Spaceport. Inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1995.