NMPedia

Armed conflict, 1879-80, between rival railroad companies seeking to put the first line through the Raton Pass. Rapid railroad expansion and conflicts over jurisdiction and right-of-way led to several noted "wars" in the Southwest; the Raton Pass war was between the newly-formed Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the Denver and Rio Grande Railway. "The Santa Fe", having put together a significant force, won the matter in Raton with no violence, but the two companies clashed more bloodily over the Royal Gorge in Colorado, with the Denver & Rio Grande eventually winning out there. Gunmen involved included Bat Masterson, Mysterious Dave Mather, Doc Holliday, and Dave Rudabaugh.

Many railroads have operated in New Mexico, some as major carriers and many smaller companies serving mining, lumber, and cattle resources. The famous Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, the "Santa Fe", did much to open up New Mexico to tourism, in conjunction with the Fred Harvey Company. Today, Amtrak offers service through New Mexico on two routes, the Southwest Chief and the Texas Eagle. The New Mexico Rail Runner Express offers passenger service along the Rio Grande Valley between Santa Fe and Belen. The Santa Fe Southern Railway runs trips along the historic line between Santa Fe and Lamy. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad runs trips through northern New Mexico along historic narrow gauge lines. Visit the Railroads in New Mexico Libguide.

Resort near Tesuque, created by Betty Egan from the former Rancho del Monte in 1968. Rated as one of the top 500 resorts worldwide by readers of Conde Nast magazine in 1998. The resort was visited by the likes of Frank Capra, Robert Redford, Kirk Douglas, Jason Robards, Johnny Cash, June Carter, and Whoopi Goldberg, After Egan's death in 1992 the property was operated by an investment group; in 2007 the buildings were razed and new construction undertaken. That version of the resort was known as Encantado. The property is now part of the Four Seasons company and is once again known as Rancho Encantado.

AKA: Hotel El Rancho. Built in 1937 by D.W. Griffith's brother R.E. Griffith; still standing in Gallup today. Griffith's intent was to provide luxury accommodations to Hollywood celebrities in the Southwest for film projects; many notables stayed at the El Rancho including Humphrey Bogart, Jean Harlow, Robert Taylor, Joan Crawford, and Errol Flynn. Originally accessed via the railroad, the El Rancho's fame declined as road access was improved. The Hotel's decor now includes signed photos of stars, and their names associated with rooms.

(1903-1983) Outlaw, much of whose life is debatable as he was known to make up stories about himself. Claimed to have ridden with Pancho Villa, though he would have been a child at the time. Shot two men in 1932 over a land dispute, for which crime he was imprisoned and later pardoned by then-Governor Clyde Tingley in 1936. While he was in prison, his family famously lived in a cave with a tarpaulin over the opening. Killed a man in 1972, for which he received four years probation. In 1983, accused of killing a father and son near his cabin; he died before the matter could be tried.

(1854-1933) Architect, credited as the "creator of the Santa Fe Style of architecture". Designed the New Mexico Territorial Capitol Building and the New Mexico Territorial Executive Mansion, the New Mexico Museum of Art building, and the New Mexico State Building for the 1904 World's Fair, which drew much attention.
State Historian webpage on Isaac Hamilton Rapp

Ten foot tall stylized bronze sculpture of a coal miner near the Miners' Colfax Medical Center in Raton. The statue, by New Mexico artist Maye Torres and designated as Untitled Coalminer #1, is designed to be a tribute to the many miners who worked in the Raton area. The same artist produced eight other works for the hospital.

High mountain pass (7834 feet) in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near the New Mexico-Colorado border. The Santa Fe Trail ran through the Pass, as did later the AT&SF Railway (which won out over the Denver & Rio Grande Railway for the route, in a "railroad war"). Frontiersman "Uncle Dick" Wootton built a toll road along the Pass in the 1860s, collecting tolls from his fortress home across the road. The Raton Pass is still a major pass through the mountains, with US 85, I-85, and the AT&SF lines running through it, though the roadways are subject to closure during winter snow storms.

AKA: Laws of the Indies. Spanish law code governing colonial activities, established 1680. The code provided very detailed guidelines for town planning and dealing with indigenous populations.

"Official State Question". Refers to the question asked by a waitperson at a restaurant, as to whether you want red chile sauce or green chile sauce on/with your entree. If you want both, the understood response in many places is "Christmas!"

Held in September in Red River New Mexico, featuring both emerging and nationally recognized artists.

Created in 1972 as a State Park; in 1989 turned over to the Navajo Nation. 10 miles east of Gallup, the Park is noted for spectacular red sandstone cliffs and formations. Home to a 5,000-seat arena and an archaeological museum; hosts rodeos, the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial in August, and the Red Rock Balloon Festival in December. Also popular for hiking and camping. Sometimes confused with Red Rock Canyon State Park in California.

See Red Rock Park

Motion picture filmed in New Mexico, starring Claire Bloom and Richard Thomas. Released 1971. Filming locations: Eaves Movie Ranch, Lamy, Santa Fe, Truchas. Based upon the 1968 book by Richard Bradford, a coming-of-age story set in northern New Mexico during World War II. The book is often featured on school reading lists.

AKA: Lincoln County Regulators, The Iron Clad. Group formed by small-ranch owners and businessmen John Tunstall and Alexander McSween as a defense in the Lincoln County War, 1878. Noted for having as a member Billy the Kid, though (as has been misreported) he never actually led the group. Other members included Charlie Bowdre, leaders Dick Brewer and Frank McNab (both killed during the conflicts), third leader Doc Scurlock, and cousins George Coe and Frank Coe. Opposing the Regulators were the Seven Rivers Warriors, the Jessie Evans Gang, and the John Kinney Gang. The most famous events of the War were the gunfight at Blazer's Mill and the "Battle of Lincoln".

Held annually in November for over 50 years, hosted by the Dona Ana Arts Council. Musical performances, juried art show, booths and vendor all reflecting Renaissance period themes.

See Internment Camps

During the Spanish Colonial period, the repartimiento empowered colonists and soldiers to impress locals to provide labor. As distinguished from the encomienda, those exercising the repartimiento were not expected to instruct the laborers in Spanish and Catholicism and there was some expectation that laborers would be paid, although this seems to have happened only rarely. The Pueblo Indians with their established towns were especially subject to this practice, and although the encomienda was not re-established after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 the repartimiento continued well into the 1700s. A facet of the repartimiento was that the Pueblos had to accept goods offered them by colonists in exchange for livestock and produce, often a grossly imbalanced deal. Missionaries could also require locals to work for the Church, though these workers were exempt from other tributes. The repartimiento yielded to the hacienda system, where land was granted in place of workers.

Event staged by the Alianza Federal de Mercedes in October 1966 to draw public attention to controversy over land grant rights in New Mexico. Members of the Alianza occupied the Echo Ampitheater Park inside the Kit Carson National Forest, raising a tent city for several days and proclaiming it a separate republic. The event had the desired effect of drawing attention to land grant issues; leader Reies Lopez Tijerina later staged the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse Raid which drew national attention to the controversy.

See Chimayó Rebellion

See Sunspot Solar Observatory

Original Spanish name for the Rio Grande

Designated as a National Monument in March 2013. Centered around the Rio Grande Gorge, the Monument consists of some 242,500 acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Geological feature running 50 miles from the Colorado border to southeast of Taos. In the Gorge the Rio Grande runs in a rift valley through the Taos Plateau basaltic formation; at the Taos Gorge Bridge it is approximately 800 feet deep. The Gorge and some surrounding 242,000 acres were designated as the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in March 2013. Hiking and mountain biking trails run through the Gorge, and rafting and boating are popular tourism activities.
Rio Grande del Norte National Monument webpage

Series of extensional basins running from central Colorado southward into Mexico. The Rift is a thinning of the crust formed by stretching eastward and westward in response to the subduction zones on the North American coasts. The basins have an average width of 50 kilometers (31 miles) and have long affected the course of the Rio Grande, forming the Rio Grande Valley; as a riverine basin, the Rift has also long been occupied by humans. In geological history the Rift has been the site of volcanic activity including the release of lava flows and the formation of cinder cones; the most recent such activity along the Rift was approximately 5400 years ago, and such activity is considered to be in dormancy and may well recommence.

Albuquerque art school founded in 1949 by abstract painter Adja Yunkers. Yunkers was affiliated with the New School for Social Research in New York, and split his time between New Mexico and New York, teaching at the Workshop when in Albuquerque.

Bundle or gathered strands of chile peppers, usually red. Traditionally, the tied strands are hung in the sun until the chile pods are dry, then stored in a shed until needed for cooking. Many older houses in New Mexico have a hook in the kitchen ceiling for hanging the "current" ristra; pods are plucked as needed. While still commonly used for cooking the chile ristra has become a symbol of hospitality in New Mexico, with ristras used decoratively near doorways. (Some decorative ristras are varnished or color-sprayed, and these of course should not be used for cooking.)

AKA: Road Runner, Chapparal Cock, Paisano, Ground Cuckoo, Snake Killer. State Bird of New Mexico, member of the cuckoo family. Long-legged, typically moves by running along the ground though capable of short flights; sometimes soars downhill. With two toes forward and two toes pointed backward to facilitate running, it leaves a distinctive X-shaped track. Hunts a wide range of small prey, including mice, lizards and snakes. Very regular in habits and curious about changes in its environment; sometimes nests near or in human structures, and may co-exist with humans. The "runner" part of the name is justified, as roadrunners have been clocked running in excess of 20 MPH.

See Descansos

AKA: Ollie Partridge Roberts, Ollie L. Roberts, Oliver Pleasant Roberts, Kid Roberts, The Hugo Kid, Rattlesnake Bill, Billy the Kid. (1859?, 1879?-1950) One of several claimants as the "real" Billy the Kid. In 1948 appeared upon the scene, demanding that he receive the pardon offered The Kid in the past by then-Governor Lew Wallace. With an 1879 birth Roberts could not possibly be The Kid, but he claimed his actual birth date was 1859. Some acquaintances believed his claims but even some of his own family remained unconvinced, as was New Mexico Governor Thomas Mabry who denied Roberts his pardon after meeting with him in 1950. After his death in 1950 the town of Hico Texas (where he had lived out his days) adopted his claims, building a Billy the Kid museum in his honor and holding an annual Billy the Kid day. Few historians take seriously his claim of being the Kid.

(1897-1966) Frank Harold Hanna Roberts. Archaeologist schooled in Las Vegas; went on to work at Pueblo Bonito and with the Bureau of American Ethnology, where he served as its last Director. Did extensive work at Chaco Canyon and on the Folsom culture. Honorary degree from UNM. Author of numerous papers on Southwestern archaeology, and the book History and Civics of New Mexico.

See "Brushy Bill" Roberts

Nickname for Alamogordo, due to its proximity to Holloman Air Force Base and the White Sands Missile Range. The town's official motto is "The Friendliest Place on Earth".

Near Deming. Offering camping at primitive and developed sites. Named for the geodes, agates, and quartz in the rocky hills.

(1856-1927) Bernard Shandon Rodey. Ireland-born lawyer and politician. Moved to Albuquerque in 1881, became a lawyer, then city attorney. Elected to the Territorial Senate, member of the Constitutional Convention. Author of the bill creating the University of New Mexico. Rodey Hall at UNM named in his honor.

(1931-2004) Albuquerque. Communication scholar, sociologist, writer, and teacher; originated the term early adopter and the Diffusion of Innovations theory. Distinguished Professor Emeritus at UNM, helping to establish the doctoral program in Communication there. Co-author, with Nancy R. Bartlit, of Silent Voices of World War II : when sons of the Land of Enchantment met sons of the Land of the Rising Sun.

(1902-1953) Taos. Noted socialite and fashion icon. Jewelry designer who helped bring international attention to Southwestern jewelry. Activist for Native American rights, including working to see Native American arts received protected status as historic works. Oil heiress; collected Native American artifacts and art. The Millicent Rogers Museum, founded after her death by her son, has a significant collection of northern New Mexico and Taos art.

Visited New Mexico in 1898 to recruit men for his Rough Riders. Attended the first annual reunion of the Rough Riders, held in Las Vegas New Mexico in 1899. Visited Albuquerque on May 5, 1903. Visited Albuquerque Oct. 23, 1916 to campaign for Republican presidential nominee Charles Evans Hughes. Made a "whistle stop" in Las Cruces March 15 1911.

Practice likely brought to New Mexico by Spanish colonists. In the rooster pull the bird is either buried up to its neck in the earth, or suspended by its feet from above. Competitors, "galleros", approach on horseback at high speed and seek to grasp the rooster by the neck and pull it free; if one is successful, the opposition tries to snatch the bird from him while his teammates run interference. The sporting event, with the rooster's blood going into the earth, is believed to derive from a fertility sacrifice and is associated with rain-making; spilled or sprinkled water is often part of the event. Rooster pulls were common in the early days of New Mexico, especially as a part of St. John's Day celebrations. Despite some public outcry, rooster pulls are still performed during festivals at some of the Pueblos.

Albuquerque. Retired plant ecologist who noted many lead tire weights along city streets. This observation during his daily walks led to a 1996 study that concluded that more than three tons of the lead weights were falling off of Albuquerque's cars every year, to be ground into dust by passing vehicles. Root's study sparked concerns that the powdered lead, a toxic substance, likely found its way into the area's air, soil, and water. In later years the EPA sought a ban on lead wheel weights, and at least six U.S. states have banned them with other states seeking such bans; many major manufacturers have now turned to non-lead alternatives.

Mosaic stone pattern of the Iron Cross set into a retaining wall on the bank of the Spring River near Roswell. The pattern was created in 1943 by German prisoners of war when on a work detail from the Roswell POW Internment Camp. After it was discovered local residents poured concrete over it; erosion revealed the design in the 1980s. It was eventually placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and with a piece of the Berlin Wall is featured in the MIA/POW Park.

AKA: Roswell Incident, Roswell Event. July 1947 discovery of a "debris field" on a ranch outside of Roswell which has swelled into a legend that includes multiple crash sites and the recovery of alien corpses. A July 8 press release from the Army Air Corps stating that a "flying disk" had been recovered from the area was recanted several days later with an explanation that it was merely misidentification of a weather balloon. The incident was largely forgotten until the publication of a book in 1980 caused a resurgence of interest; since that time the word Roswell has become synonymous with "aliens" and there have been dozens of books, several films and television series, and numerous pop culture references around the "Incident". The event remains controversial. Though there is no physical evidence, the town of Roswell hosts an annual UFO Festival and visitors come from around the world to visit "the crash site" (though that actual location is also debated).

See International UFO Museum and Research Center

AKA: Roosevelt's Rough Riders. First Regiment, U.S. Volunteer Cavalry in the Spanish-American War. Teddy Roosevelt, then a Lieutenant Colonel, visited New Mexico in 1898 to recruit men for the unit, many of whom served with him in Cuba; most of the Rough Riders were from the Southwest, with over 30% from New Mexico. Once he became President, Roosevelt maintained ties with New Mexican brothers-in-arms, including George Curry, W.H.H. Llewellyn, and Charles Ballard, and he attended the first annual Rough Riders reunion held in Las Vegas New Mexico in 1899 and several reunions thereafter.
State Historian webpage on the Rough Riders

AKA: David Rodenbaugh, Dave Rudebaugh, Dirty Dave. (1854-1886) Outlaw who worked the area around Las Vegas in the 1870s. Was a member of the Dodge City Gang, then eventually joined up with Billy the Kid in his gang working around Fort Sumner. After a posse led by Pat Garrett captured Rudabaugh and other members of the gang, Rudabaugh was sentenced to 99 years in prison for mail robbery then sentenced to death for murder. While awaiting execution he escaped and fled to Arizona where he joined up with the Clantons in their vendetta against the Earps around Tombstone. Rudabaugh drifted south to Mexico and was killed there in a dispute. Contemporaries reported that "Dirty Dave" warranted that nickname, as he had very poor personal hygiene and in fact stank.

(1828-1893) William Logan Rynerson. Moved to New Mexico in 1866; in 1867 famously slew Chief Justice John P. Slough in Santa Fe during an argument over slander, for which killing he was acquitted on grounds of self defense. Appointed District Attorney in 1876. A member of the Santa Fe Ring, he was a player in the Lincoln County War and blocked the pardon granted Billy the Kid by Governor Lew Wallace. Co-founded the Feliz Land & Cattle Co.