SANTA FE - TRAIL ENDS - New Mexico Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

In 1821, the borders of New Mexico were flung open to trade with the United States in the wake of Mexico's independence from Spain. Under Spanish rule, all trade from the New Mexico province went south to Mexico. It didn't take long for one trader, Charles Becknell, to make the trip. Thus was born the Santa Fe Trail, which stretched from Franklin, Missouri to Santa Fe.

Initially, the route, known as the Mountain Branch, followed the Arkansas River through southeastern Colorado down into New Mexico over Raton Pass. When Becknell began loading up covered wagons with goods, he looked for an easier route, coming across Oklahoma and entering New Mexico just north of present-day Clayton, crossing the Kiowa grasslands down through Las Vegas. This became known as the Cimarron Cutoff. The two routes met at Watrous, just northeast of Las Vegas.

Today, travelers can follow the Mountain Branch, which still snakes over Raton Pass, then veers west to Cimarron, a rough-and-tumble western town that retains much of its long-ago character. The St. James Hotel hosted many travelers passing through, including Buffalo Bill Cody and Jesse James. Farther south, the byway passes through Rayado, a trail campsite that later became the home of Kit Carson. From here the byway heads east to I-25.

Entering the state just north of Clayton, the byway roughly parallels, and occasionally intersects, the Cimarron Cutoff, passing by Rabbit Ears Mountain, Point of Rocks and Wagon Mound on its way to Watrous. Just west of Watrous, Fort Union was built to protect travelers on the trail. Keep a keen eye for wagon ruts all along both branches of the trail.

Farther south, the trail comes to Las Vegas, which was a major trading center for travelers. Passing by Starvation Point and Pecos National Monument, the trail finally winds its way to Santa Fe, where a granite marker on the Plaza commemorates the end of the trail.

History:: www.santafenm.gov/index.aspx?NID=2506 Link to History,Plaque or Sign:: [Web Link] Additional Point: Not Listed

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