Jemez Valley Historical Events Timeline
From the heart of the village of Jemez Springs, a rich and vibrant history unfolds. This timeline chronicles the story of our community, beginning long before its formal establishment. It starts with the ancestral Pueblo of Giusewa, built around 1350 by the ancestors of the modern-day Jemez (Walatowa) people, drawn here by the very same healing hot springs that give our village its name.
The story continues with the arrival of the Spanish and the construction of the San José de los Jémez Mission, a historical landmark that stands today as a powerful reminder of our intertwined past. The timeline then moves through the centuries, detailing how our area transformed from a remote frontier to a celebrated resort destination in the 19th and 20th centuries, with the establishment of bathhouses and hotels. Ultimately, this narrative reveals how every significant event—from ancient occupation to modern development—is rooted in the unique landscape and enduring spirit of our village.
Modern Day
Present – 1901
2010-present
Events
- 2015 Valles Caldera National Preserve comes under the administration of the National Parks Service
- 2011 Las Conchas fire
- 2010 Rio Metro provides first bus service to communities in Sandoval County
2009 Major remodel of Jemez Springs Public Library
2001-2010
1991-2000
Events
- 2000 Valles Caldera National Preserve created
- 2000 Cerro Grande fire
- 1998 Highway through Jemez Mountains designated Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway
- 1998 Jemez Valley Medical Clinic opens in Cañon
- 1998 New post office building opens in Jemez Springs
- 1997 Sulphur Canyon Internet Service opens
- 1997 Hot Rocks geothermal site closes
- 1995 Jemez Springs wins All-American City award
- 1995 First issue of Jemez Thunder
1989 Community Center built in Cañon
1981-1990
1971-1980
Events
- 1975 Jemez Springs installs waste treatment plant
- 1973 Bodhi Mandala Zen Center established
- 1972 Via Coeli built in Jemez Springs
Events
- 1967 Hot Rocks geothermal site opens
1967 San Ysidro incorporated - 1964 First telephone service; first phone installed in Abousleman house in Jemez Springs
1964 San Pedro Parks established as a wilderness area
1961-1970
1951-1960
Events
- 1959 Hummingbird Music Camp founded by Lloyd Higgins
- 1958 American Legion Post #75 chartered
- 1956 Jemez Valley School District established
- 1955 Village of Jemez Springs incorporated
Events
- 1947 Fr. Fitzgerald founds Servants of the Paraclete and Handmaids of the Precious Blood
- 1948 Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative incorporated
- 1948 Rail line up Guadalupe Canyon abandoned and rails taken up; tunnels enlarged for logging trucks
- 1944 Camp Shaver construction begins
- 1941 Major flood destroys railroad trestles and miles of track; railroad subsequently abandoned
1941-1950
1931-1940
Events
- 1935 Logging begins in Baca Location No. 1; road built by CCC from Los Alamos to Cuba
- 1935 Gusiewa site becomes Jemez State Monument
Events
- 1925 Rancho Rea opens
- 1923 Part of Pueblo land condemned to allow railroad construction
- 1922 White Pine Lumber Company begins logging in the Jemez Mountains;
- 1922 Tunnels were blasted through Guadalupe Box Canyon to as part of construction of logging railroad
1921-1930
1911-1920
Events
- 1916 First school in Jemez Springs
- 1915 Santa Fe National Forest created
- 1912 New Mexico becomes a state
Events
- 1907 Post office changed from Perea to Jemez Springs
- 1905 Jemez Forest Reserve established
- 1903 Sandoval County created out of Bernalillo County
- 1903 Nathan Bibo opens mercantile stores in San Ysidro and Bland
1901-1910
Classic & Historic Periods
1900 – 1551
1891-1900
1894 (Jemez Springs) Post office changes from Archuleta to Pereat
Events
- 1881 Presbyterian church and mission established in Jemez Springs
- 1888 First (Jemez Springs) post office, named Archuleta
- 1888 First of several visits to pueblo ruins including Guisewa by famed archaeologist Adolph Bandelier
- 1880 Mariano Otero and Miguel Otero (the senior) pursue plan to develop hot springs as a resort
- 1887 Post office established in Cuba
1881-1890
1871-1880
Events
- 1876 Baca Location No. 1 (now Valles Caldera National Preserve) awarded to Baca heirs after decades of court battles
- 1875 Oscar Loew, U.S. Topographical Engineers, writes report on Gusiewa
- 1874 Post office established in San Ysidro
1870 – 78 First bath house built in Jemez Springs
1861-1870
1851-1860
Events
- 1865 Jemez Springs acequia system recorded
- 1852 Bernalillo County created (one of seven original counties in New Mexico Territory)
- 1850s (exact dates unknown) First public bath opened by Archuleta; first settler(s) in what is now Jemez Springs aka Hot Springs aka Jemez Hot Springs
Events
- 1850 New Mexico becomes U.S. Territory
- 1849 Lt. James Simpson, U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers, leads expedition to explore area, reports hot springs
- 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo signed, cedes what is now New Mexico to U.S.
1841-1850
1821-1830
Events
- 1821 Luis Maria Cabeza de Baca Grant awarded, part of which eventually become Baca Location No. 1 and much later becomes Valles Caldera National Preserve
- 1821 Spain grants independence to Mexicot
Events
- 1798 Cañon de San Diego grant awarded by Spanish crown
- 1785 San Ysidro de los Delores land grant awarded by Spanish crown
- 1769 Joaquin de Naciamento grant awarded by Spanish crown to settlers in what is now Cuba
- 1768 Ojo de los San Jose grant awarded by Spanish crown (included what is now Ponderosa and the community of Sierra Los Pinos)
- 1776 Mission church established at Walatowa
1751-1800
1701-1750
- 1706 Walatowa becomes sole location of Jemez people; first Catholic mission established at that location
Events
- 1699 San Ysidro settled
- 1696 Final revolt of Jemez People, who then fled after final defeat in battle on Guadalupe Mesa
- 1680 Pueblo Revolt
1651-1700
1601-1650
- 1621 Mission of San Jose de Guisewa, sometimes called San Jose de Jemez, established (now Jemez Historic Site)
Events
- 1598 New Mexico becomes Spanish colony
- 1598 First mission at Guisewa (abandoned in 1599)
- 1583 Espejo-Beltran expedition comes through this area
- 1581 Rodriguez-Chamuscado expedition comes through this area
1551-1600
1501-1550
- 1541 First Spanish arrive—Capt. Francisco de Barrionnuevo, under command of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, explored the valley and noted approximately 30 Jemez villages
Prehistoric Periods
Archaeologists have divided the pre-contact history of the Pueblo people into five periods as described below. Jemez people continued to live in some of their numerous pueblos after the Spanish entrada, so the timeline shows some overlap.
1600CE-Present
- Historic Period — Described in detail in the timeline.
- Classic Period — Characterized by large pueblos on mesa tops, the largest of which had approximately 3,000 rooms and covered 30 acres.
1300-1600CE
1200-1300CE
- Coalition Period — Characterized by increasing population, variety of ceramics and mid-sized pueblos, often near rivers and some on mesa tops.
- Developmental — Characterized by first appearance of ceramics, dwellings were pithouses near streams.
600BCE-1200CE
600BCE-earlier
- Archaic Period — Characterized by seasonal hunting camps. First evidence of agriculture, dated to approximately 2440BP as revealed by findings in Jemez Cave on the Jemez River near the modern Village of Jemez Springs.