Category Archives: American History

Steve Wimmer Southwest History Research Grant: 2025 Call for Submissions

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Image of white man sitting at hotel concierge desk

The Steve Wimmer Southwest History Research Fund for the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library (FACHL) at the New Mexico History Museum (NMHM) was established in 2021.  It honors Steve’s memory and enthusiasm for New Mexico history & cultural tourism which he shared with others in his role as the La Fonda Hotel’s head concierge.  

A research grant of $1,500 will assist researchers to travel to Santa Fe and use the History Library collections. Priority given to candidates wishing to study an aspect, person, organization or industry from New Mexico History between 1879 – 1949.  All scholars, either affiliated with an institution or independent, are welcome to apply.  All projects, either academic or entertaining, will be considered.

The grant includes: 

  • Stipend of $1,500 and can be used to support any aspect of the project. Payments will be made in 2 installments: the first $1000 upon the award of the grant, the last $500 upon the completion of the project 
  • Up to 1 week (5 weekdays) of onsite research at the FACHL 
  • Up to 4 weeknight’s lodging at the La Fonda Hotel on the historic Santa Fe Plaza (to be used sometime between March- October, not on holiday weekends and subject to availability)
  • Research hosted and assisted by qualified archivists 
  • Digitization of research documents for publication/ presentation and waiving of reproduction fees 
  • Research assistance at the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives 

The grantee will be expected to: 

  • Spend up a minimum of two weekdays conducting onsite research at the FACHL prior to December 31, 2025 
  • Write article for publication, referencing the Fund.  Can be academic or non-academic article for publication in El Palacio, NM Magazine, or similar publication highlighting some aspect of research and include a reference to the Fund. Article to be submitted by June 30, 2026 
  • Provide a copy of final article to the library 

The New Mexico History Museum is a statewide educational resource, local landmark, and destination for anyone who wants to understand the diverse experiences of the people of New Mexico. The Fray Angelico Chavez History Library is a constituent member of the Museum and the state’s oldest library with collections spanning 700 years. 

Applications should include a CV or resume and letter of interest.  Each should be no more than two pages.  Please include research question and specify at least one collection held at FACHL to be used.  Projects can include any library collection and archival collections can be browsed at NM Archives Online.  If an undergraduate or graduate student, include name of academic reference.  For best consideration, submit applications to Kathleen Dull at: historylibrary@dca.nm.gov by Monday, July 7, 2025.  One grant will be awarded in 2025. 

Dispatches: Good Friday Pilgrimages in New Mexico

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A group of people standing around three wooden crosses on a rocky hillside.
Good Friday, Tomé Hill, Stations of the Cross, 1976.
Courtesy of Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts

New Mexico has several well-known Easter pilgrimage sites reflecting its Hispano-Catholic roots. While Chimayó may be the most famous, it’s worth mentioning Tomé Hill, south of Albuquerque, and Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, NM.

Tomé Hill

Tomé Hill is a high point about 30 miles south of Albuquerque in Valencia County on the east side of the Rio Grande River and five miles southeast of Los Lunas. The prominent high spot has attracted travelers for thousands of years and was once a major landmark along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. Petroglyphs (rock art) along the route speak to even earlier significance as a possible spiritual site for Native and early Hispano peoples. The current Christian pilgrimage tradition started as a passion play in Tomé Plaza in 1948 and later evolved into a procession and ascent up Tomé Hill with members of the Hermanos Penitentes (Penitent Brotherhood), a lay Catholic fraternity, carrying and then erecting a cross on the summit. Today, visitors can see from below several crosses that dominate the summit view, hike to the top, or participate in the Good Friday pilgrimage.

Steel arch sculpture with steel sculpture people and animal figures in front of the arch and a desert hill in the background.
La Puerta del Sol, Cor-Ten steel sculpture by Armando Alvarez at the foot of Tomé Hill, NM.

Learn more:
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/new-mexico-el-cerro-de-tome.htm

Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts has nearly 60 images from the 1970s online: https://nmdigital.unm.edu/digital/collection/loslunas/search/searchterm/tome%20hill/page/2

Mount Cristo Rey

On the far southern border with Mexico, in Sunland, NM, Sierra de Cristo Rey, or Mount Cristo Rey, is home to a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Christ with his arms outstretched on a cross. The mountain straddles the US and Mexico border and serves as a pilgrimage site for thousands who travel from El Paso, TX, Southern New Mexico, and Chihuahua, Mexico. To reach the statue at the top, pilgrims ascend a 2.2-mile gravel path. The monument was constructed in 1939 by sculptor Urbici Soler, who donated his time and money to fund a large part of the construction. The cross has been continuously standing and maintained by volunteers since October 29, 1939. New Mexico, Texas, and Chihuahua, Mexico are all visible from the top.

Learn more:
http://www.mtcristorey.com/

This 2018 YouTube video provides a great visual: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urpg0g0uVUs

Tomé Hill is open year-round, and Mount Cristo Rey is open on a limited basis for special events, but they are both abuzz with the faithful, as well as the curious, during annual Good Friday pilgrimages. If you have walked either route or know of other pilgrimage sites in New Mexico, let us know!

Black and white image of a crowd of people in the parking lot of a church with one man holding a large wooden cross over his shoulder.
Arrival at the Santuario, 1996. Photograph by Sam Howarth. Neg. no. HP.2024.14.14. POG/NMHM.

If you’re in Santa Fe be sure you see our new exhibition opening April 12, Chimayó: A Tradition of Faith to learn more about the state’s largest and most known pilgrimage site: https://nmhistorymuseum.org/exhibition/details/6558/chimayo-a-tradition-of-faith

Mark Dodge
Curator of Southwest Memories
Mark.Dodge@dca.nm.gov

Dispatches from the Curator of Southwest Memories

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Nine Eagle Scout boys and two men in uniforms pose for a group photo with a female camp counselor holding a sign for the Philmont Scout Ranch.
Memory-making at Philmont Scout Ranch. Mark Dodge, Curator of Southwest Memories, is in the back row, third from right.

My first memory of New Mexico is from a trip to Philmont Scout Ranch when I was 17 years old. I rode the train from Michigan to attend a week-long high adventure backpacking trip, where I encountered bears and rattlesnakes. My experience on that trip created a positive, lasting memory and is a part of my personal story.

How do you define memories? Maybe as recollections or ideas of the past? Something that happened to you, or something you heard from others? A remembered experience, interesting factoid, or emotional response? Or all the above? Memories are often ethereal in quality and our own labeling as “good” or “bad” may change and evolve through time. The memories we carry form the basis of our personal histories and shape our views about the world and our place in it. Therefore, it makes sense to share and discuss memories in a museum, since we’re filled with them. Hopefully the museum is fertile ground to create new ones too. 

I’m interested in the people-centered work of building community, so I plan to keep these ideas in mind while exploring the diverse stories from New Mexico. I’m new here, and I’m curious to soak up the stories of my new home. This blog is a forum to share behind-the-scenes research, conversations, and interesting and memorable content. It’ll be informal with links from around the state that celebrate all things New Mexico. I plan to learn from you, too, and welcome your ideas and resources.

My name is Mark and I’m the new Curator of Southwest Memories. I want to hear your memories from the Land of Enchantment, and I look forward to sharing the unique and fascinating stories I learn with you.

Cheers,

Mark Dodge, Curator of Southwest Memories, Mark.Dodge@dca.nm.gov.

A bison in a barn reaches out to lick a Caucasian man smiling beside the barn window.
Memory-making with Clyde, New Mexico’s most famous animal actor, at Mortenson’s-Eaves Movie Ranch.