A Pecos story

A few miles east of Santa Fe, outside the small village of Pecos, lie the remains of the once-mighty Pecos Pueblo. Although just mounds and fragments of walls remain today, the area has a rich and proud past which is not forgotten.

Pecos Pueblo "is congregated on a high and narrow hill ... It has the greatest and best buildings of these provinces and is most thickly settled ... It is enclosed and protected by a wall ... And by tiers of walkways which look out on the countryside," so said Baltazar de Obregón, a Spanish visitor to Pecos Pueblo in 1584. A visitor today can still make out the remains of buildings on that high and narrow hill and the protecting wall is visible around the perimeter of the pueblo.

Pecos Pueblo was strategically valuable, lying at the gateway between the nomadic tribes of the Great Plains and the western Pueblo tribes. Of the 13 American Indian tribes that today claim cultural ties to the ancient Pecos Pueblo, approximately half are plains tribes, such as Apache, Comanche and Kiowa, and half are Pueblo tribes, such as Jemez, Hopi, and Cochiti. Tribes from the plains brought goods such as buffalo hides, shells and slaves to Pecos to trade for turquoise, pottery and crops.

This blend of tribes and cultures, in addition to the vigorous trade, gave the pueblo the feel of an inland metropolitan port, which yet preserved a unique culture and social life. The heart of the Pecos traditions lay underground, in the pueblo's numerous kivas, underground rooms where various ceremonies were held. These ceremonies were thought to preserve the balance between the physical and spiritual worlds, which in turn ensured the health of the pueblo. Several kivas can be seen today as stone-lined pits in the central plaza. Two kivas have been restored and are accessible to visitors.

Because of its extremely regular and symmetrical design, the pueblo is believed to have been built as a unit in the late 1300s. At its height of its power, from about 1450 to 1550, the pueblo had around 2,000 people living in dwellings that reached four and five stories high.

With the coming of the Spanish R

in the 16th century and the settling of the Southwest, the world in which Pecos thrived changed drastically. Catholic missionaries came to the pueblo, and in 1625 a large church, Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Porciuncula (Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula, Porciuncula is a town in Italy just south of Assisi) was completed outside the pueblo walls. The church was destroyed in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, which expelled the Spanish from New Mexico. After the Spanish reconquest in 1693, a smaller church was built at Pecos in 1717. The walls of this later church still stand on top of the earlier church's impressive stone foundation.

The present-day village of Pecos has a special tie to the ancient pueblo. When the last residents of the pueblo emigrated to Jemez Pueblo in 1838, they entrusted the portrait of Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula, the patron saint of the pueblo's church, to the St. Anthony's in Pecos village, on the condition that the portrait be carried to the pueblo each year for the feast of church's patron on Aug. 2. With the exception of the few years when the church walls were unstable, this wish has been honored, and to this day the feast of Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula is celebrated each year on the first Sunday of August in the remains of the pueblo church. The celebration is well attended by people from both Pecos village and from Jemez Pueblo.

The remains of the Pecos pueblo can be seen today at the Pecos National Historical Park. A paved, 1.25-mile trail runs from the Visitor Center through the remains of the pueblo, kivas, mission church and surrounding buildings. Admission to the park is $3, no charge for children 16 and under.

The Visitor Center offers books and literature on Pecos Pueblo and the surrounding area, as well as a short film on the history of the pueblo. An extensive and informative exhibit on the pueblo and its history is in the center.

Though best-known for the ancient pueblo, Pecos National Historical Park contains several other sites of interest. "We're set aside for a multitude of diverse reasons, unlike most other parks," says Judy Reed, cultural resources manager for the park. In addition to the Pecos Pueblo, the park encompasses the site of the Civil War Battle of Glorieta. In 1862 Confederate Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley led a band of Texan soldiers into New Mexico Territory, hoping to secure land, resources and soldiers for the Confederacy. Taking advantage of the sparse Union presence in the territory, the Confederates captured Santa Fe, flying the Confederate flag above the Palace of the Governors on March 13, 1862. The Confederate army was stopped in the canyons near Glorieta by Union forces from Colorado. Called by some the "Gettysburg of the West," the Battle of Glorieta was an important Union victory, stopping the Confederate drive into the west.

Also in the park is the historic Forked Lightning Ranch, a 5,500-acre ranch and guest house built in the 1920s by the "Daddy of Rodeo," Tex Austin. The ranch was later owned by Buddy Folgeson and the late actress Greer Garson. Guided tours and talks on Forked Lightning Ranch and the Glorieta battlefield are available. Call for more information.

Only a small portion of the park is open to the public. Christine Beekman, chief of interpretations at the park, hopes to see more land open to the public in the near future. Beekman expects to offer new public programs in the park during the summer, such as night programs focusing on astronomy. Call for tour schedules and to

see what programs the park is offering.

If you go

What: Pecos National Historical Park

What you’ll see: What you’ll see: A pueblo that is believed to have been built as a unit in the late 1300s. At its height of its power, from about 1450 to 1550, the pueblo had around 2,000 people living in dwellings that reached four and five stories high.

Open: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily Memorial Day through Labor day; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily during the winter. The park is closed Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Information: (505) 757-6414; www.nps.gov and follow the link to Pecos Historical Park.

To get there: From Santa Fe, take I-25 north and get off at the Glorieta-Pecos exit, then go 8 miles through Pecos village to the park. Southbound travelers on the interstate should take the Rowe exit and continue 3 miles to the ruins.