TRINIDAD, COLORADO- “where the mountain branch crosses the Purgatoire”
It’s time to “Catch Up” for the Santa Fe Trail Symposium in Trinidad during the weekend of September 27-30. The Planning Committee cordially invites and encourages you to return to the site where the Santa Fe Trail Association planted its roots in the fall of 1986. This year’s Symposium will feature some of the old-time favorite characteristics of past Symposiums along with introducing some new innovations to make this year’s event an enjoyable, satisfying and, in particular, an educational experience for all who choose to attend.
SEE EVENTS SCHEDULE FOR TIMES
Events will commence Thursday afternoon with a series of tours. One will visit the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site to see the secluded, rarely accessible sites found on the present military reservation northeast of Trinidad. These sites include petroglyphs left by the earliest American Indians who came into this area some 11,000 years ago through the eras of the historic tribes who called the area home. Sites will be examined that illustrate the experiences of the Spanish and, later, Mexican citizens who moved through or into the area up through 1848. The American transition of the area’s frontier will be highly evident from the earliest expeditions of Major Stephen Long and trade expeditions of William Becknell two years later through the heyday of the Trail’s Mountain Route to the stagecoach era and to the later agriculture lifestyle which has been prominent throughout the area for over a century.
For those who would rather get acquainted with the City of Trinidad, there are a number of tours of the numerous museums, historic sites and galleries in town. In an upcoming edition of Wagon Tracks the particulars of each of these will be offered.
Thursday’s activities will conclude with a reception held on the grounds of the Colorado Historical Society’s Baca – Bloom Houses with food, entertainment and plenty of time to catch up with old friends and new acquaintances.
On Friday and Saturday two tours along the area’s branches of the Santa Fe Trail will be available to participants. One of the tours will be a 100-mile trek along the Military Freight Road in Southeastern Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico with about seven stops. The other will be a like-distance tour of the Mountain Route to the north and east heading toward the crossing of the Arkansas.
Friday morning’s activities will return to the campus of Trinidad State Junior College after a twenty-one year absence for an educational experience which will satisfy and also whet the appetite of the audience. There will be a mixed roster of outstanding speakers, both familiar and new, speaking in a formal setting or in a relaxed atmosphere. See EVENTS SCHEDULE for speakers and topics.
A major concern of the Bent’s Fort Chapter, this Planning Committee and the Santa Fe Trail Association over the past few years has been educating the youth of America on the role and importance of this vital highway of commerce – the Santa Fe Trail. This year, the area’s schools have been invited to participate in “Harvesting History: A Santa Fe Trail Kids’ Camp”. We also extend this invitation to any of the Symposium participants and/or their children. A bounty of history and culture will be available at the Baca House and the Santa Fe Trail Museum for all to enjoy on Friday. Participants will learn about American Indian, Hispanic and Anglo cultures during the Santa Fe Trail period. They will harvest the Baca Kitchen Garden, churn ice cream, make adobe bricks, play games, dance the Virginia Reel, dress in historic costumes, and create Trail art. They will also tour the Baca House and the Santa Fe Trail Museum. All activities will take place on Friday, September 28, 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. for area fourth graders and Symposium participants.
As you can see, there are numerous events, presentations and activities scheduled for the weekend of September 27-30, 2007 as the Santa Fe Trail Association returns to Trinidad, Colorado. It is our sincere hope that you will be able to join us and your fellow Santa Fe Trail Historians and enthusiasts at the place where the SFTA was created those short twenty-one years ago.
Art Source: The painting featured at the top of this page was done by artist and SFTA member Doug Holdread. Visit Doug's Website
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