Old Section of the Santa Fe National Cemetery:
A Santa Fe Lost but Not Forgotten Cemetery Tour
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 3 pm
Join Historic Santa Fe Foundation for the third tour in a series on Santa Fe’s marked and unmarked cemeteries led by archaeologist Dr. Alysia L. Abbott. Walk through Santa Fe’s history, as revealed by the lives and the deaths of the people buried in the oldest section of Santa Fe’s Historic National Cemetery, established in 1870.
LEARN MORE AND RESERVE YOUR SPOT FOR THE TOUR BELOW.
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The Old Section with monuments sweeping up the hill side and the imposing view of Saint Catherine’s, Photo by Alysia Abbott
ABOUT THE TOUR
The Historic Santa Fe Foundation (HSFF) is pleased to announce a walking tour of the Old Section of Santa Fe’s Historic National Cemetery led by archaeologist Dr. Alysia L. Abbott. The tour will cover the history of the graveyard and the people buried there as well as the esthetics of the cemetery and pathways to protecting the site. The tour will last approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
Beginning inside the Old Section (Section G) at the Rosario Gate, walk through Santa Fe’s history, as revealed by the lives and the deaths of the people buried in the oldest section of Santa Fe’s Historic National Cemetery, established in 1870.
Following the esthetics of eastern military cemeteries of the 19th century, the Santa Fe National Cemetery was laid out with wide avenues separating graves. The emphasis was on garden-like landscaping suggesting parkland rather than graveyard and with functional buildings in the cemetery designed to look like stately homes. Through this landscape we will walk among the graves of the Honored Military and Civilian Dead of 19th-century Santa Fe. Many buried here are those to whom the plaza obelisk was dedicated.
On the tour we will visit the graves of soldiers, civilians, mothers, fathers and babies; a cross section of 19th-century Santa Fe. People from pueblos, towns, and villages across New Mexico and across the country are buried here. The known and the unknown buried side by side.
Throughout the tour, we will talk about the Dead and their cemetery. Who they were? What journeys brought them to Santa Fe and the end of the Trail? How have attitudes toward the people buried in this small piece of Hallowed Ground changed over 150 Years? What responsibility do the people of 21st-Century Santa Fe have to protect them and their cemetery?
The tour covers a small section of Santa Fe National Cemetery and lasts approximately 1.5-2 hours. Comfortable walking shoes are highly recommended for this tour. Price per person is $55 for members and $65 for non-members. Sign up below.
MAP OF the SANTA FE NATIONAL CEMETERY
LEFT: MONUMENT TO KINI - MAY, SANTA FE NATIONAL CEMETERY, PHOTO BY ALYSIA ABBOTT; RIGHT: MONUMENT TO FOURTEEN UNKNOWN U.S. SOLDIERS, PHOTO BY ALYSIA ABBOTT
ABOUT THE GUIDE
Dr. Alysia L. Abbott is an archaeologist who has been researching the known and lost cemeteries and graveyards of Santa Fe for a decade. She has been documenting the monuments and researching the history of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery in Santa Fe intensively since 2014. Most recently, Dr. Abbott directed the recovery excavations of graves from the Old Masons and Odd Fellows Cemetery, exposed by the La Secoya de El Castillo development in 2021. A summary of Dr. Abbott’s research on Santa Fe Cemeteries, “A Hidden History of the Dead” was published in El Palacio in the fall of 2021. Dr. Abbott holds degrees in Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Texas and the University of New Mexico. She and her husband archaeologist David Eck live in Santa Fe.
CANCELLATION POLICY
A full refund for the tour only will be given if canceled on or before September 15, 2024. If there is a cancellation after September 15, the participant(s) will be issued a tax-donation for the amount retained at the foundation.
Add a membership to your cart to get the discounted rate for this tour and other Member benefits.
WANT TO BECOME A MEMBER? Add a membership to your cart to get the discounted rate for this tour and other Member benefits. Annual membership - Individuals $45, Household $80. Visit the Join & Give page, add to cart with the above links, email Giulia Caporuscio at giulia@historicsantafe.org, or call 505.983.2567. Checks for Membership can be mailed to Historic Santa Fe Foundation, 545 Canyon Rd, Ste 2, Santa Fe NM, 87501