Welcome to Santa Fe, NM
Santa Fe is the capital city of New Mexico, and is located in the north-central part of the state. Although the area was explored by the Spanish Coronado Expedition as early as 1540, Santa Fe was not truly settled until conquistador Don Pedro de Peralta arrived there in 1609 and subsequently built the Palace of Governors, which is now known to be the oldest public building in the United States. At this time, Santa Fe served as the capital of the Spanish “kingdom of New Mexico.” The city continued to flourish, even after Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1810, and New Mexico was no longer part of a closed empire. Santa Fe in the early 19th century saw a surge of trappers and traders, and the Santa Fe Trail established by William Becknell in 1821 brought even more settlers from the East Coast. Santa Fe was taken by American army general Stephen Watts Kearney in the Mexican American War, and in 1912, New Mexico joined the Union.
Santa Fe is the oldest city west of the Mississippi, and during its almost 400 years of history, it has passed through many hands, from Pueblo Indian, Spain, Mexico, and finally the United States. The Santa Fe of today retains elements of all these cultures in its art and architecture, museums and sacred places, even in the layout of its streets. Santa Fe is proud of the fact that it’s “the city different”; unlike other cities that are eyesores on the landscape, the residents of Santa Fe take great care to preserve their historic structures, and when constructing new ones within historic areas, they use the Spanish Pueblo Revival design that blends seamlessly with the city’s most treasured buildings. Because of this group effort, Santa Fe remains as one of the most significant historic cities of the American West.
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