“Captain William Becknell: Founder of the Santa Fe Trail”

Date: October 5, 2012
Contact: Valerie Duran, 505-425-8025 ex. 221

Glimpses of the Past October 18, 2012

"Captain William Becknell: Founder of the Santa Fe Trail"

 Las Vegas, NM:  "Captain William Becknell: Founder of the Santa Fe Trail" will be featured on Thursday, October 18, 2012, at 7:00PMat the CCHP/Santa Fe Trail Interpretive Center, 116 Bridge Street, Las Vegas, NM, 87701.

Following routes that had been established by American Indians and traversed by Spanish colonists, William Becknell has been referred to as the "Father of the Santa Fe Trail". In the fall of 1821, with the hope of acquiring funds to pay off old debts, William Becknell bravely ventured into relatively unknown territory to find a direct route to Santa Fe. When Becknell returned to Missouri in January of 1822, he was able to pay off all of his debt; it would be this idea of trade for riches that would inspire future travels along the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico. Join Santa Fe Trail Association Director, Allan Wheeler, as he gives us an up-and-close chance to meet the traveler who braved the dangers along the Santa Fe Trail.

Allan Wheeler moved to Santa Fe in 1993 and was instantly excited by various aspects of the Southwest.  He was a teacher of local and New Mexican history, culture, geography and basic geology to schools and special interest groups such as Renesan Institute for Life Long Learning and the Santa Fe Trail Association. Wheeler has authored several research papers related to New Mexico history including A Layman's History of Santa Fe, 10000BC to 2009AD and A History of the Santa Fe Trail.

The Glimpses of the Past series are free in partnership with the Citizens Committee for Historic Preservation, Las Vegas, NM. For more information and a complete schedule of events, contact Fort Union National Monument at [phone], or visit www.nps.gov/foun.

About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 398 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.