SANTA FE (san'ta f5,'), capital of New Mexico, U.S.A., in the northern part of the State, on the Rio Santa Fe, 20 m. E. of the Rio Grande ; county seat of Santa Fe county and the oldest seat of government in the United States. It is on Federal high ways 66, 85 and 485, and is served by the Denver and Rio Grande Western and the Santa Fe railways. Pop. (1920) 7,236; in 1930, 11,1 76 by Federal census. It lies 7,000 ft. high, at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Range. The climate is dry, sunny and invigor ating, with an average annual rainfall of 14.49 in. and an average monthly mean temperature ranging from 28.8° F in Jan. to 69° in July. The original Spanish plaza is still the heart of the city. On the north side of the plaza is the old Governor's Palace, built in 1609; occupied continuously until 1909 by the Spanish, Indian, Mexican and American governors of New Mexico; and now housing the collections of the Historical Society of New Mexico and the archaeological exhibits of the State Museum. The new State Museum (an art gallery), is an example of the "Santa Fe" architecture (reproducing in a blended unity the façades of six early New Mexico missions), where the members of the Santa Fe and Taos "art colonies" exhibit their work before sending it east. Near the plaza is the chapel of San Miguel (built in 1636), and close by is "the oldest house in the United States," of Indian con struction, antedating the Spanish occupation. St. Francis cathedral dates in part from 1711-14 and occupies the site of a church built in 1622. In the north-eastern part of the city are the ruins of Fort Marcy, built by General Kearny in 1846. A stone in the plaza marks the end of the old Santa Fe Trail. The modern structures are mainly in the distinctive "Santa Fe" type of archi tecture, developed (largely since 1910, through the efforts of a small group of persons connected with the School of American Research and the State Museum) by combining features from the terraced dwellings of the Pueblo Indians, the crumbling Franciscan missions, and the haciendas of 'Spaniard and Mexican. The Pecos Division of the Santa Fe National Forest lies 5 m. east of the city. Farther away, at distances ranging from 9 to 75 m., are the Indian pueblos of Tesuque, San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso (home of Maria, the pottery maker), and Taos (one of the few remaining pueblos where the Indians still live in terraced houses); Chimayo, a Spanish plaza, where pilgrims come to be healed at the Sanctuario, and where blankets are woven on looms roo years old; the Puye cliff dwellings and those of Rito de los Frijoles; the Pecos River canyon, the hot springs of Ojo Caliente, the petrified forest near Cerrillos, and the turquoise mines near Bonanza.
Santa Fe was the site of prehistoric Indian pueblos, of which few remains above ground were left when the Spaniards came. The Villa Real de Santa Fe de San Francisco was founded in 1609, during the administration of Don Pedro de Peralta, and the build ing of the presidio was begun at the same time. By 1630 there was a population of 25o Spaniards, 700 Indians and 5o half-breeds. In 1680, the Pueblo Indians drove out their conquerors (see NEW MEXICO) and enjoyed independence until Diego de Vargas quietly secured their submission again in 1692. Minor revolts took place in 1694 and 1696. Since 1712 an annual fiesta has been held in commemoration of the reconquest of 1692. During the 18th century a considerable trade in sheep, wool, pelts and wines de veloped, chiefly with Chihuahua and the Indians of the Plains. Later, Santa Fe became the centre of an extensive commerce with the United States, carried on at first by pack animals, and from 1822 by wagon trains over the old Santa Fe Trail from Inde pendence and Kansas City. In the later years of Spanish rule a number of American citizens were imprisoned in the dungeons of the Governor's Palace, charged with entering the province for trade and commerce; among whom were Major Zebulon M. Pike (1807), Auguste Pierre Chouteau and Joseph de Mun (1817) and David Meriwether (later a governor of New Mexico) in 1819. On Aug. 18, 1846, the city was occupied by an American force under General S. W. Kearny. A few months later the Mexicans assassinated the new governor, Charles Bent, and other Americans, but the revolt was quickly suppressed. In 1847 an English news paper was established (the first in New Mexico) and in 1848 an English school was opened. At the outbreak of the Civil War the officers at Fort Marcy sympathized with the Southern cause. In 1862 the city was taken by General H. H. Sibley, and for two weeks the flag of the Confederacy floated over the Governor's Palace. The first railway reached the city in 1880.