Last updated: January 18, 2023
Place
Pecos National Historical Park
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
1 Peach Drive, Pecos, NM 87552
Significance:
From wagon ruts to trading posts, remnants of the historical Santa Fe Trail can still be seen at Pecos National Historical Park. It was on these lands that Union and Confederate troops utilized the Santa Fe Trail during the Civil War battle of Glorieta Pass and where weary travelers would rest their head at Kozlowski's Stage Stop and Trading Post.
Designation:
National Historical Park; National Register of Historic Places; U.S. National Historic Landmark U.S. NationNational Historical Park; N.M. State Register of Cultural Properties
Amenities
4 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Picnic Shelter/Pavilion, Restroom, Trailhead/Hiker Register
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From wagon ruts to trading posts, remnants of the historical Santa Fe Trail can still be seen at Pecos National Historical Park. Settlers and travelers riding the trail between Santa Fe, NM and Independence, MO passed right by the remnants of Pecos Pueblo. Long before Europeans entered this country, the pueblo village of P`ǽkilâ (Pecos) was the juncture of trade between people of the Rio Grande Valley and hunting tribes of the buffalo plains. After Spanish colonization, a successful Pueblo revolt, and recolonization, the population of Pecos Pueblo was decimated. In the 1830s, the last remaining Pecos people migrated permanently to the Pueblo of Jemez where the Pecos traditions live on.
In 1862, the area surrounding the ruins of Pecos Pueblos was the setting of what some call the Gettysburg of the West – the Battle of Glorieta Pass. During the battle, Union and Confederate troops utilized the Santa Fe Trail, the heart of the conflict occurring within a two-mile stretch of the Trail. The Confederates campaigned to take control of the West, which would have greatly improved their chances of success. However, in just three days of tough fighting, the Union Army ruined the Confederate plans and sent them retreating back southwards. The Union retained control the American Southwest for the rest of the Civil War. Today, you can visit the Glorieta Pass Battlefield at Pecos National Historical Park. Additionally, you can visit one of the famous stops along the Santa Fe Trail – Kozlowski’s Stage Stop and Trading Post. Here, weary travelers rested, a day’s ride from Santa Fe, and explored the ruins of the mission church and pueblo.
After you finish visiting the park, there are many other Santa Fe Trail sites you can visit nearby. Head west to Santa Fe and you can see the Palace of the Governors, the Santa Fe Plaza, and sites at the end of the Trail. Head east and you can explore the charms of the historical trail town of Las Vegas and the adobe remnants of the largest 19th century military fort in the region at Fort Union National Monument.
Site Information
Location (1 Peach Drive, Pecos, NM 87552)