Story by Paul and Marilyn Duncan, edited by Mark Wing, photos by Mark and Susan Wing
Saturday 09/26/20: San Gabriel, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, Los Luceros
Link to Espanola Valley Tour Day 1 (Sept. 24, 2020)
Link to Espanola Valley Tour Day 2 (Sept. 25, 2020)
San Gabriel de Yunque & San Juan Pueblo (Ohkay Owingeh): Currently the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo has approximately 1,500 inhabitants. The original pueblo was settled around 1200 AD by Anasazi descendants from southern Colorado. Several Spanish explorers had scouted the area well before Oñate arrived from Mexico in 1598 with a large expedition party including missionaries, soldiers, settler families, slaves, farm animals and horses. He quickly established a first European capital of New Mexico at the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo that he renamed San Juan. The next year, the Pueblo inhabitants offered him a nearby pueblo site on the west side of the Rio Grande river. He moved there and named it San Gabriel de Yunque and established a second Spanish capital there. A replica of their San Gabriel Mission church is located at the Española Plaza. The San Gabriel de Yunque monument marks the site of the Oñate settlement. The location was recognized as a National Historic Site in 1964.
Los Luceros Historic Site: This is a 150-acre ranch located along the Rio Grande near the village of Alcalde. The 18th century Territorial-style adobe hacienda and a visitor center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, the property includes several residences, an 18th century chapel, the original village jail, farm buildings, apple orchard and pastures. The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs purchased the Los Luceros property in 2008 and is managing the site’s preservation. Ethan Ortega, son of Tin Lizzie member Orlando & Melody Ortega is the current manager. Also, they have recently been awarded a major “Save America’s Treasures” grant through the National Park Service, National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. This is a $1.1-million-dollar project to preserve and stabilize the main hacienda structure.
Alcalde: A small village with under 500 inhabitants. It was the site of the Oñate Monument Visitor Center that was built in the 1990s but never opened. The controversial Oñate stature has been removed to storage. The main attraction in the area is the Los Luceros Historic Site. The NMSU Sustainable Agriculture Science Center is also located there on the former San Gabriel Ranch. The property originally functioned as a dude ranch that catered to visitors from the East Coast including Georgia O’Keefe, Mary Cabot Wheelwright, and the Rockefellers. The Alcalde Science Center was built there in 1923. The State of New Mexico purchased the property in the 1950s and currently NMSU conducts research on agriculture and natural resources relevant to the small farms in the region that are irrigated by the acequias.
Sunday, September 27th, was spent packing up and driving home. Due to the COVID pandemic, it was a smaller group then our typical Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque tours, but it was still a really wonderful tour and everyone had an enjoyable time. There were no mechanical breakdowns and the weather and scenery were beautiful. The residents that we encountered were very interested in our cars and very appreciative that we would visit their communities. We hope our experience encourages others to visit historically and culturally rich Rio Arriba County and the interesting sites in Northern New Mexico.
Thank you very much to our tour organizers Paul and Marilyn Duncan and to the tour contributors Dave Ferro and Orlando Ortega. Great job!