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Santa Fe - History |
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Founded c.1609 by the Spanish on the site of prehistoric Native American ruins, it became a center of Spanish trade with local ethnic groups. A seat of government since its founding, it is the oldest capital city in the United States. In the Pueblo revolt of 1680, the Spanish colonists were driven out; in 1692 they returned under Diego de Vargas. Shortly after Mexico gained independence from Spain (1821), extensive commerce with the United States developed by way of the Santa Fe Trail . In 1846, the region became a U.S. territory. The railroad reached Lamy (the station for Santa Fe, 16 mi/26 km distant) in 1879. 2 The seat of an archbishopric since 1875, the city, with its many churches, is a Roman Catholic center. Points of interest are the Palace of the Governors (c.1610), which houses a state museum; the Laboratory of Anthropology; museums of international folk art, Navajo ceremonial art, and contemporary Native American art; a state-owned art gallery; and a museum devoted to the artist Georgia O’Keeffe. There are artists’ and writers’ colonies, an opera house, St. John’s College, the College of Santa Fe, a Native American school, and a state school for the deaf. The city is the headquarters for the Santa Fe National Forest and regional headquarters for the National Park Service.
The railroad, chartered in 1863 as the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe RR; opened to traffic in 1864. Construction continued, and in 1880 it reached Santa Fe, N.Mex.; the following year the railroad connected with the Southern Pacific RR. The railroad acquired several small lines, and further construction followed; by the early 1890s the Santa Fe, with its 9,000 mi (14,480 km) of track and connections to Chicago and Los Angeles, became one of the world’s longest railroad systems. Poor management and a reckless dividend policy combined with the depression of 1893, however, to bankrupt the railroad company, which in 1895 was reorganized as the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company. In the 20th cent. the railroad increased its holdings; by 1929 it had 13,000 mi. (20,917 km) of track in the Southwest. In the 1960s a holding company, Santa Fe Industries, was created for the railroad and various subsidiaries. After the Interstate Commerce Commission blocked a merger with the Southern Pacific Company (1988), Santa Fe Industries reorganized, and the railroad emerged as a part of the newly named Santa Fe Pacific Corporation. In 1995 the Santa Fe Pacific Corporation merged with the Burlington Northern RR to become the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. |
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