Santa Fe is the State Capital of New Mexico and recently celebrated it's 400th anniversary. Santa Fe means "Holy Faith". The city was founded by Don Pedro de Peralta in 1608, originally named La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis (the Royal Town of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi). In 1610 Santa Fe became the capital of the Province of Nuevo Mexico, making it the oldest capital in what became the United States of America.
Before the Spaniards arrived, Santa Fe was occupied by several Pueblo Indian villages dating back to 1050 B.C.E.; the current site of the Old Plaza was a village named Ogapoge. Between the years 1680 and 1692, the Spaniards were driven out of Santa Fe due to the Pueblo Revolt; Don Diego de Vargas later reconquered Santa Fe and the city remained the provinicial seat until the Mexican War of Independence in 1810.
The Republic of Texas claimed Santa Fe as part of its territory when it suceeded from Mexico in 1836. In 1841, a small Texan force was sent from Austin to lay conquest to Santa Fe, but it was ill-prepared and was captured by the Mexican Army. The United States later gained possession of Santa Fe through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 following the end of the Mexican-American War in 1846.
In 1851, Jean Baptiste Lamy arrived in Santa Fe to begin construction of St. Francis Cathedral. Santa Fe was envisioned to be an important stop along the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, but the tracks were built through nearby Lamy instead ; a branch line was built between Lamy and Santa Fe in 1880 and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad extended the narrow gauge track to Espanola in 1886.
In 1912, New Mexico became the 47th State of the United States, and Santa Fe became the New Mexican capital. Today, Santa Fe ("The City Different") is a popular tourist destination and artist center. Enjoy your visit to OldestCapital.Com!
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