Acomilla Historical Marker, Socorro County

The Acomilla historical marker can be viewed at a rest stop on Interstate 25 about 45 miles south of Albuquerque.

The marker reads as follows:

Named Acomilla by the Spanish, these buttes form the walls of a narrow passage for the Rio Grande, along which Spanish encountered the Apache. Travelers organized armed caravans to assure their safety along this section of the Camino Real. An earlier pueblo named Alamillo sat below the black basaltic buttes of San Acacia to the southwest.

For many years, all I thought of this area was the neat wooden rest stops that sit on the sands on both sides of the interstate. Headed north, it's the last decent restroom break before hitting Albuquerque (unless you like to exit in Belen or Los Lunas), and heading south, it's the first convenient rest stop. But there's so much more than that here. One look in any direction tells you as much.

For more than 100 years, not much lay between this point and El Paso (a run of nearly 150 miles). As the marker states, around this point, the river and the buttes set up something of a bottle neck that made for a convenient attack location for the Apache raiders along the route. It was partly because of this spot that caravans would wind their way up and down the Camino Real in large, armored groups, to ensure the safety of travelers.

Modern day San Acacia is near this location, less than 2 miles to the south. The small town sprung up with the addition of rail lines in the latter 19th century. By this time, of course, the Apache threat had been removed.

It's a small and simple reminder about New Mexico's origins (the Camino Real leading to Santa Fe), and the dangers that travelers faced in the most treacherous and famed part of the royal road.

My sources for this post are as follows:

• Roadside New Mexico: A Guide to Historic Markers, by David Pike: The definitive guide to historical markers in New Mexico. A must own for anyone interested in New Mexico history.

San Antonio on the Camino Real Historical Marker: Socorro County

San Antonio, New Mexico is a small village that lies 10 miles south of Socorro, right off of Interstate 25. San Antonio is so sparsely populated that its population isn't easy to get a fix on because of its status as an unincorporated community, although some estimates put its population at around 175 people.

What made San Antonio important for a time was the fact that it was the final outpost on the El Camino Real before reaching the Mesilla Valley, well over 100 miles to the south. This made it an important stop point for almost every traveler on the road. (for more on the El Camino Real, see my post on the Jornada del Muerto Historical Marker, it has some great links, and you can also check out my tag: Camino Real, which links to all my posts involving the Royal Road).

According to the marker, San Antonio was re-occupied by Hispano settlers from the north after the Pueblo Revolt. In my research, I found that original vestiges of the San Antonio de Senecú, including a pueblo along the banks of the Rio Grande, were likely re-settled after the Spanish were driven into Mexico following the Pueblo Revolt, and San Antonio is the remembered name of their original mission, with the farming village of San Antonio, bits and pieces of which can still be seen today, forming up around this original pueblo.

Of course all of this history pales in comparison to San Antonio's connection to pop culture heiress Paris Hilton (forgive me for mentioning her name in the pages of this blog, I promise it will be the only time). Conrad Hilton, patriarch of the Hilton family and founder of Hilton Hotels, was born and raised in San Antonio. His family opened up a small hotel out of their home to serve travelers along the Atchinson, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. Conrad worked his first jobs at the family hotel, eventually buying his first hotel in Cisco, Texas. The rest, as we say, is history. Conrad Hilton eventually operated one of the largest and most well known hotel chains in the world.

I referred to the following sites for information on this post:

• San Antonio: Ghosttowns.com
• Gil's Thrilling and Filling Blog: The Owl Cafe
• Roadside New Mexico: A Guide To Historic Markers  by, David Pike

Paraje de Fra Cristobal Historical Marker: Socorro County

Paraje de Fra (a variant of "Friar") Cristobal is named for Friar Cristobal de Salazar, a member of Oñate's 1598 expedition that founded the Camino Real.

It was said by members of the expedition that the mountain range to the east resembled the friars profile.

This particular paraje, Spanish for "stopping place," was one of the more important stops on the entire Camino Real, which spanned from Mexico City to Santa Fe, some 1400 miles. What made this stop so important is that it was the northern entry or exit point of the Jornada del Muerto (see my post on the Jornada del Muerto marker for more information on this deadly journey by clicking HERE). 100 miles to the south was Paraje San Diego (see my post on that marker HERE for more information). Between these two markers lie the journey of the dead man, a 100 mile trek through open desert with no permanent water source.

This marker sits at a rest stop in sourthern Socorro County about 40 miles south of Socorro (which you can see on a map HERE). There are three other markers at this rest stop that I will be discussing soon, Fort Craig, Vasquez de Coronado's Route, and Women of the Camino Real.

• If you'd like to learn more about El Camino Real, please visit my post on the Jornada del Muerto marker, which lists some great resources at the bottom. 
• For more information on El Camino Real in Socorro County, check out this pdf brochure from the Camino Real Heritage Center. 
• I gathered some information about Fra Cristobal, and Fra Cristobal Range at the following two sites: Wikipedia entry for Fra Cristobal Range, and the photo gallery for the Camino Real Heritage Center (where I also found the photo that shows the friar in profile up next to the range that you can see above).

Paraje San Diego Historical Marker: Doña Ana County

On the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro road that was a heavily used trade trail between Mexico City and Santa Fe (and is responsible for many of the settlements in this area, including Santa Fe itself), there were many parajes, a Spanish word for "stopping place." Back then, travelers could expect to move between 20-40 miles per day, sometimes less depending upon the terrain. Here in present day northern Doña Ana County, the Camino Real deviated from the safety of the Rio Grande and crossed open desert. This journey was known as the Jornada del Muerto. I previously visited that marker, which is actually located right behind this marker. The post for that marker is titled Jornada del Muerto Historical Marker: Doña Ana County.

Paraje San Diego was the final stop before the Joranda del Muerto, a 100 mile journey with no water source that needed to be completed in the shortest amount of time possible due to the dire circumstances. On the other end was Paraje Fra Cristobal. This paraje is considered significant for that reason.

If you'd like to learn more about El Camino Real, please visit my post on that titled Jornada del Muerto Historical Marker: Doña Ana County, there are some resources at the bottom of that posting.

There is also this brochure from the Camino Real Heritage Center.

Check out this marker mapped out HERE.

This last photo looks out east from the rest stop on I-25 where this marker is located. The view is of the beginnings of the Jornada del Muerto journey. 

Jornada del Muerto Historical Marker: Doña Ana County

Before I begin telling about the Jornada del Muerto, it's important to discuss the history of the Camino Real. There are other "Camino Real" roads, the one I am referring to in this case and in the case of New Mexico history is El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Spanish for "The Royal Road of the Interior Land". This heavily used road ran from Mexico City to Santa Fe from 1598 to 1882. This trail, which was in use locally prior to 1598, became the major trade route between the Mexican Capital and Santa Fe, the most important settlement in the northern lands, when Don Juan de Oñate's expedition came through. The Camino Real is responsible for much of the settlements along the route, including El Paso, Las Cruces, Mesilla, Albuquerque, Durango (Mexico), Chihuahua, Juarez, and of course, Santa Fe.

Along the Camino Real were rest stops, where travelers could get water, trade for food, rest, etc. Sometimes there were actual towns and villages to stop at, get water and food, and rest. Other stops, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, were known as "paraje," and there are many of these that have been marked off with historical markers, in fact, the site of this marker is also the site of Paraje San Diego (click the link to be taken to the post for that marker). Paraje San Diego was the last stop before leaving the safety of the Rio Grande River.

The danger of leaving the river was being away from water. However, at this point, some 10 miles north of Las Cruces, the route along the Rio Grande was full of dangerous cliffs and other perils. So the Camino Real stretched off to the west, and for 100 miles, leading up to Paraje Fra Cristobal (click the link to be taken to the post for that marker), had no reliable water source. This stretch of the trail, a "jornada", a dangerous trail between parajes that must be traveled in a single day due to lack of water, became infamously known as the Jornada del Muerto, or "Journey of the Dead Man."

The town of Socorro to the north of the Jornada got its name because of the sad state of many Pueblo travelers once they reached it (Socorro means "help" or "assistance" in Spanish). During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Spanish refugees retreated across the Jornada, losing over 800 of their group to the elements.

Today the Jornada del Muerto lives as a testament to the difficult conditions that our ancestors in the area endured to survive, and to show us the resolve they had to reach their destinations.

If you'd like to learn more about the Jornada del Muerto or the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, please check out the following links, my sources for this post:

• El Camino Real International Heritage Center: Jornada del Muerto: The Journey of Death
• The Southwest Railfan: The Jornada del Muerto Explained
• Wikipedia: Jornada del Muerto
• New Mexico Art Tells New Mexico History: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
• El Camino Real Timeline (pdf) at BLM.gov
• Wikipedia: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
• The map view of this particular marker can be seen HERE