Trinidad,Colorado

Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail

Its development

Between 1821 and 1880, the Santa Fe Trail was primarily a commercial highway connecting Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico used by both Mexican and American traders until 1846, when the Mexican-American War began.

A few months later, America’s Army of the West followed the Santa Fe Trail westward to successfully invade Mexico. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war in 1848, the Santa Fe Trail became a national road connecting the more settled parts of the United States to the new southwest territories. Commercial freighting along the trail boomed, including considerable military freight hauling to supply the southwestern forts. The trail was also used by stagecoach lines, thousands of gold seekers heading to the California and Colorado gold fields, adventurers, missionaries, wealthy New Mexican families, and emigrants.

The Colorado portion of the Trail was known as the Mountain Branch and extended from the border of eastern Colorado near Lamar, southwesterly into Trinidad and over Raton Pass to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Want to learn more? Check out canyonsandplains.org .

Detailed map of the Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway

...And its demise

In 1866, one year after the Civil War ended, an unprecedented period of railroad expansion began in the new state of Kansas. Within two years, rails had been laid across central Kansas, and by 1873, two different rail lines reached all the way into Colorado. In the early 1870s, three railroads competed to build rails over Raton Pass to serve the New Mexico market. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad prevailed and reached the top of Raton Pass in late 1878. In February 1880, the railroad reached Santa Fe, and with that, the Santa Fe Trail fell into disuse and slowly began fading into the past.

Photo of Kit Carson statue with blue sky and Fisher's Peak in background

Close up view of Santa Fe Trail marker in Kit Carson Park, Trinidad, Colorado

Team of oxen pulling wagon over Raton Pass in late 1800s

Santa fe Trail Bicentennial Celebration

In September 2021, the communities of Trinidad, Colorado and Raton, New Mexico collaborated on a Commemorative Celebration for the 200th Anniversary of the Santa Fe Trail.

This week-long, once-in-a-lifetime event – Sept. 27-Oct. 3, 2021 – included historic tours of the trail and the Santa Fe Trail Museum, period reenactments including the Buffalo Soldiers, mountain man rendezvous, fun, historic activities for families, theatre productions, art exhibits, and more.

This was only one of many commemorative events taking place along the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to Santa Fe New Mexico. In our region, in addition to the events happening along the Colorado/New Mexico border, the 2021 Santa Fe Trail Bicentennial Symposium took place in La Junta, Colorado from September 23rd-26th, 2021. For more information on this special event, please visit the symposium website.

A Special Thank You to Our Santa Fe Bicentennial Celebration Sponsors

We are so grateful for our many sponsors, who have come together behind this historic event in a big way! Below, you will see four categories organized high to low in order of donation size: Wagon Master, Trail Boss, Scout, and Pioneer. Thank you to all of our sponsors for your support!