SENATE MEMORIAL 61

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Nancy Rodriguez

A MEMORIAL

OUTLINING THE HISTORY OF AGUA FRIA VILLAGE IN SANTA FE COUNTY AND REQUESTING THE ASSISTANCE OF STATE AGENCIES IN DETERMINING IF A MUSEUM IS JUSTIFIED IN DOCUMENTING THE HISTORY.

     WHEREAS, the Agua Fria village area has been known as Pueblo Quemado, Pindi Pueblo and Cieneguitas, and is generally considered to be the area from arroyo de los frijoles on the north to arroyo de los chamisos on the south and from the villa de Santa Fe league on the east to the Cieneguilla land grant on the west; and

     WHEREAS, this area has had human habitation on its fertile Santa Fe river alluvial plains since at least seven thousand years before the common era; and

     WHEREAS, the native peoples may have graded the land to create an irrigation system, and the first Europeans recognized the area's potential for agriculture; and

     WHEREAS, archaeological digs done under Agua Fria road in 2009 for sewer extensions have indicated that two prehistoric settlements under the Pindi Pueblo site may date back to three thousand years before the common era; and

     WHEREAS, el camino real de tierra adentro, also known as the royal road to the interior lands, brought the first expeditions to New Mexico, and, beginning in 1598, the first colonists under Juan de Onate; and

     WHEREAS, el camino real de tierra adentro was an artery of commerce and travel, joining Spain's colonial capital at Mexico City to the northern frontier of Santa Fe and spanning one thousand six hundred miles; and

     WHEREAS, a number of Native American routes ran along el camino real de tierra adentro from the Aztec empire in Mexico to the turquoise mines in los Cerrillos; and

     WHEREAS, earlier Native American trading routes ran from Mexico City to the pueblos of the valle de Rio Grande, then on to Chaco canyon and California; and

     WHEREAS, el camino real de tierra adentro is recognized by the federal government as a national historic trail; and

     WHEREAS, el camino real de tierra adentro has international significance and is recognized throughout the United States, Mexico and Central and South American countries where other caminos reales exist; and

     WHEREAS, the original route of el camino real de tierra adentro runs through the heart of the traditional village of Agua Fria, on the present-day streets of Agua Fria road and junta del alamo, just past the ojos de San Isidro; and

     WHEREAS, the actual name of "Agua Fria" is undocumented but residents speculate that it is from weary travelers splashing their faces with cold water from the Santa Fe river, the first mountain stream they would have encountered on their journey from the south; and

     WHEREAS, in 1776, Fray Francisco Atanacio Dominguez gave a census count to his superiors listing Agua Fria with fifty-seven families and two hundred ninety-seven people; and

     WHEREAS, trade and travel on el camino real de tierra adentro shaped individual lives and the traditional historic community of Agua Fria and greatly affected its settlement and development as a farming community; and

     WHEREAS, under the American occupation declared in Santa Fe on August 19, 1846, United States Army brigadier general Stephen Watts Kearney and other soldiers used el camino real de tierra adentro through Agua Fria village; and

     WHEREAS, San Isidro Catholic church was constructed along the road in 1835 and schoolhouses were constructed along the road in the 1890s; and

     WHEREAS, the Charles M. Probst remount station, situated in present day lugar de Padilla, was a stagecoach resting place and inn along el camino real de tierra adentro before its entrance into Santa Fe; and

     WHEREAS, delegations from Native American tribes visiting the federal government offices in Santa Fe camped in the Agua Fria area; and

     WHEREAS, in a 2012 proclamation, the Santa Fe county board of county commissioners recognized Agua Fria road through the historic village of Agua Fria as the original route of el camino real de tierra adentro and acknowledged the route's significant impact on the development of Agua Fria village and the surrounding areas; and

     WHEREAS, starting in 2013, the residents of Agua Fria village conducted a series of oral history interviews of the elders for the New Mexico historical records advisory board; and

     WHEREAS, an Agua Fria gateway monument was completed in 2015 with design assistance from the national park service and the support of Santa Fe county; and

     WHEREAS, the gateway monument is constructed with mud-plastered adobes made by the residents and a photo display of historic photographs; and

     WHEREAS, in 2016, the residents of Agua Fria village developed an exhibit of photographs, stories and antique farm equipment on display at the historic Santa Fe foundation's el Zaguan gallery; and

     WHEREAS, a historic structures and places survey was completed by Agua Fria residents and the national park service, based on the New Mexico historic preservation division's 1983 study;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the economic development department and the cultural affairs department be requested to study the possibility and economic benefits of creating a museum commemorating the history of el camino real de tierra adentro in the Agua Fria village area; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the economic development department and the cultural affairs department be requested to meet with or otherwise involve representatives of the city of Santa Fe, the national park service, residents of Agua Fria village and other interested parties; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the economic development department and the cultural affairs department report recommendations to the appropriate interim legislative committee by August 1, 2018; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of economic development, the secretary of cultural affairs and the president of the Agua Fria village association.

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