Pecos National Historical Park – New Mexico
Set against the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Pecos National Historical Park is a palace where centuries of history unfold quietly across the land. This land was home to the Pecos Pueblo, one of the most influential pueblos in the Southwest. For hundreds of years, Pecos served as a vital crossroads of trade linking the Plains tribes with Pueblo people. This location made it prosperous, powerful and connected to a vast indigenous network stretching far beyond the borders of what is now New Mexico.
In the early 18th century, Spanish colonists arrived and established a Franciscan mission beside the pueblo. A massive church once stood here as a symbol of the profound cultural shift that followed. Conversion, disease and hardship altered the Pecos. Over time, the population declined, and by the early 1800s the remaining residents left the pueblo.
During the Civil War, this site became the setting for the Battle of Glorious Pass in 1862. This battle was called the “Gettysburg of the West” as Union forces halted a Confederate advance, shaping the future of the Southwest.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson designated the area as Pecos National Monument, ensuring protection for the pueblo ruins and mission church. Twenty-five years later in 1990, George H. W. Bush expanded the designation and renamed the site Pecos National Historical Park.
Read More From Nancy
Hamilton Grange National Memorial – New York
For those who have seen the musical Hamilton, do you remember the moment when the family “moves uptown? In the late 18th century, uptown meant leaving the crowded streets of lower Manhattan for open farmland to the north. This are would later become Harlem. That is where Alexander Hamilton built his country retreat, a house known […]
Acadia National Park – Maine
The only designated National Park in the Northeast, Acadia National Park, is another spectacular place. There are sweeping ocean views and granite. Mountains rise from the sea, while waves crash against ancient rock. Long before Acadia became a national park, the rugged coastline and granite mountains of Mount Desert Island drew wealthy summer residents and by […]
John Fitzgerald National Historic Site – Brookline, MA
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts offers the opportunity to step into the earliest chapters of that life that would shape world history. Touring this modest home, you are greeted by the recorded voice of Rose Kennedy. She calmly recounts the rhythms and rituals of family life. Through her reflections, the house […]
