Salinas Pueblo Missions: The Early History

This paper examines the early history of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument just beyond the time when Gran Quivira was set aside as a government reservation. It focuses on the Pueblo Indian and Spanish Colonial mission ruins now protected by the National Park Service, at the management units of Gran Quivira, Abó, and Quarai, while also placing the Salinas story into the broader historical context of New Mexico and U. S. West history. This is accomplished by a careful examination of the first hand accounts by individuals who visited the sites throughout this early period in their history, with a view toward how the perception of these places affected their use, and how this ultimately led to their preservation. It is hoped that this study will illicit further investigation of the many topics it can only briefly touch upon.HistoryMastersUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of HistoryHutton, Paul A.Connell-Szasz, MargaretBall, Larry D