Name Before
European colonization of the Americas, the area Santa Fe occupied between AD 900 and the 1500s was known to the
Tewa peoples as (, , one of a number of places named for their
water access) and by the
Navajo people as ("bead" + "water place"). In 1598,
Juan de Oñate established the area as , a province of
New Spain.
Early history The area of Santa Fe was originally occupied by indigenous
Tanoan peoples, who lived in numerous
Pueblo villages along the
Rio Grande. One of the earliest known settlements in what is known as downtown Santa Fe today came sometime after 900 AD. A group of native
Tewa built a cluster of homes that centered around the site of today's Plaza and spread for to the south and west; the village was called ''Oghá P'o'oge'' in
Tewa. The Tanoans and other Pueblo peoples settled along the
Santa Fe River from the mid-11th to mid-12th centuries, but had abandoned the site for at least 200 years by the time Spanish arrived in the early 17th century. reconquered Santa Fe after the
Pueblo Revolt, famously without spilling blood. This is commemorated every year in the
Fiestas de Santa Fe.
Spanish era Don
Juan de Oñate led the first Spanish effort to colonize the region in 1598, establishing
Santa Fe de Nuevo México as a province of
New Spain. Under Juan de Oñate and his son, the capital of the province was the settlement of
San Juan de los Caballeros north of Santa Fe near modern
Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. Juan de Oñate was banished and exiled from New Mexico by the Spanish, after his rule was deemed cruel towards the indigenous population. New Mexico's second
Spanish governor, Don
Pedro de Peralta, however, founded a new city at the foot of the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains in 1607, which he called
La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís, the Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint
Francis of Assisi. In 1610, he designated it as the capital of the province, which it has almost constantly remained, making it the oldest state capital in the United States. Lack of Native American representation within the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, New Spain (current New Mexico's early government) led to the 1680
Pueblo Revolt, when groups of different Native
Pueblo peoples were successful in driving the Spaniards out of New Mexico to El Paso. The Pueblo people continued running New Mexico from the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe from 1680 to 1692. , built 1610, is the
oldest church in the United States. The territory was reconquered in 1692 by Don
Diego de Vargas through the so-called "Bloodless Reconquest", which was criticized as violent even at the time. The next governor, , started to broker peace, including the founding of
Albuquerque, to guarantee better representation and trade access for Pueblos in New Mexico's government. Other governors of New Mexico, such as , continued to be better known for their more forward-thinking work with the indigenous population of New Mexico.
Mexican era Santa Fe was Spain's provincial seat at outbreak of the
Mexican War of Independence in 1810. The city's status as the capital of the Mexican territory of was formalized in the
1824 Constitution after Mexico achieved independence from Spain. In addition to remaining the administrative and political heart of Nuevo Mexico, Santa Fe maintained its status as the central trading and transportation hub west of the Mississippi. Beginning in the 1820s, the
Santa Fe Trail brought lucrative commercial links to what was then the American frontier in Missouri, attracting both indigenous and Euro-American traders. The opening of trade and migration with the U.S. also facilitated friendly relations between the new Mexican republic and its American counterpart, for which Santa Fe was the primary nexus. When the
Republic of Texas seceded from Mexico in 1836, it attempted to claim Santa Fe and other parts of as part of the western portion of Texas along the . In 1841, a small military and trading expedition set out from
Austin, intending to take control of the Santa Fe Trail. Known as the
Texan Santa Fe Expedition, the force was poorly prepared and easily captured by the New Mexican military. Notwithstanding these incursions, as well as recurring conflicts between Euro-American settlers and native peoples, Santa Fe witnessed multiple migrations through the three trails that led to the city, which would give way to the railroad,
Route 66, and the interstate.
United States , after the
Mexican Cession to the United States In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico. Brigadier General
Stephen W. Kearny led the main body of his Army of the West of some 1,700 soldiers into Santa Fe to claim it and the whole
New Mexico Territory for the United States. By 1848 the U.S. officially gained New Mexico through the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Colonel
Alexander William Doniphan, under the command of Kearny, recovered ammunition from Santa Fe labeled "Spain 1776" showing both the lack of communications and quality of military support New Mexico received under Mexican rule. In 1846, following the
annexation of
Texas, they claimed Santa Fe along with other territory in eastern New Mexico. Texas Governor
Peter H. Bell sent a letter to President
Zachary Taylor, who died before he could read it, demanding that the
U.S. Army stop defending New Mexico. In response, Taylor's successor
Millard Fillmore stationed additional troops to the area to halt any incursion by the
Texas Militia. Territorial claims were also brought by the
California Republic and
State of Deseret each claiming parts of western New Mexico. These territorial disputes were finally resolved by the
Compromise of 1850, which designated the
103rd meridian west as Texas's western border and resulted in
California's statehood, and the establishment of the land claims of the
Utah and
New Mexico Territory. , built 1853-89 Some American visitors at first saw little promise in the remote town. One traveller in 1849 wrote: In 1851,
Jean Baptiste Lamy arrived, becoming bishop of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado in 1853. During his leadership, he traveled to France, Rome, Tucson, Los Angeles, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Mexico City. He built the Santa Fe
Saint Francis Cathedral and shaped Catholicism in the region until his death in 1888. As part of the
New Mexico Campaign of the
Civil War, General
Henry Sibley occupied the city, flying the
Confederate flag over Santa Fe for a few days in March 1862. Sibley was forced to withdraw after Union troops destroyed his logistical trains following the
Battle of Glorieta Pass. The
Santa Fe National Cemetery was created by the federal government after the war in 1870 to inter the Union soldiers who died fighting there. On October 21, 1887,
Anton Docher, "The Padre of Isleta", went to
New Mexico where he was ordained as a priest in the St Francis Cathedral of Santa Fe by Bishop
Jean-Baptiste Salpointe. After a few years serving in Santa Fe,
Bernalillo and
Taos, he moved to
Isleta on December 28, 1891. He wrote an ethnological article published in
The Santa Fé Magazine in June 1913, in which he describes early 20th century life in the Pueblos. As railroads were extended into the West, Santa Fe was originally envisioned as an important stop on the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. But as the tracks were constructed into New Mexico, the
civil engineers decided that it was more practical to go through
Lamy, a town in
Santa Fe County to the south of Santa Fe. A branch line was completed from Lamy to Santa Fe in 1880. The
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad extended the
narrow gauge Chili Line from the nearby city of
Española to Santa Fe in 1886. The Territory of New Mexico incorporated the City of Santa Fe on June 17, 1891. Neither was sufficient to offset the negative effects of Santa Fe's having been bypassed by the main railroad route. It suffered gradual economic decline into the early 20th century. Activists created a number of resources for the arts and
archaeology, notably the
School of American Research, created in 1907 under the leadership of the prominent archaeologist
Edgar Lee Hewett. In the early 20th century, Santa Fe became a base for numerous writers and artists. The first airplane to fly over Santa Fe was piloted by Rose Dugan, carrying
Vera von Blumenthal as passenger. Together the two women started the development of the
Pueblo Indian pottery industry, helping Native women to market their wares. They contributed to the founding of the annual
Santa Fe Indian Market.
20th century following statehood in 1912. In 1912, New Mexico was admitted as the 47th U.S. state, with Santa Fe as its capital. At this time, with an approximate population of 5,000 people, the city's civic leaders designed and enacted a sophisticated city plan that incorporated elements of the contemporary
City Beautiful movement, city planning, and historic preservation. The latter was particularly influenced by similar movements in Germany. The plan anticipated limited future growth, considered the scarcity of water, and recognized the future prospects of suburban development on the outskirts. The planners foresaw that its development must be in harmony with the city's character. After the mainline of the railroad bypassed Santa Fe, it lost population. However, artists and writers, as well as retirees, were attracted to the cultural richness of the area, the beauty of the landscapes, and its dry climate. Local leaders began promoting the city as a tourist attraction. The city sponsored architectural restoration projects and erected new buildings according to traditional techniques and styles, thus creating the
Santa Fe Style. , a historic
Pueblo Revival hotel built in 1922
Edgar L. Hewett, founder and first director of the
School of American Research and the
Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe, was a leading promoter. He began the
Santa Fe Fiesta in 1919 and the Southwest Indian Fair in 1922 (now known as the
Indian Market). When Hewett tried to attract a summer program for Texas women, many artists rebelled, saying the city should not promote artificial tourism at the expense of its artistic culture. The writers and artists formed the Old Santa Fe Association and defeated the plan.
Japanese-American internment camp New Mexico voted against interning any of its citizens of Japanese heritage, so none of the Japanese New Mexicans were interned during World War II. During
World War II, the federal government ordered a
Japanese-American internment camp to be established. Beginning in June 1942, the
Department of Justice arrested 826 Japanese-American men after the
attack on Pearl Harbor; they held them near Santa Fe, in a former
Civilian Conservation Corps site that had been acquired and expanded for the purpose. Although there was a lack of evidence and no
due process, the men were held on suspicion of
fifth column activity. Security at Santa Fe was similar to a military prison, with twelve-foot barbed wire fences, guard towers equipped with searchlights, and guards carrying rifles, side arms and
tear gas. By September, the internees had been transferred to other facilities—523 to
War Relocation Authority concentration camps in the interior of the West, and 302 to Army internment camps. , The Santa Fe site was used next to hold
German and
Italian nationals, who were considered enemy aliens after the outbreak of war. In February 1943, these civilian detainees were transferred to
Department of Justice custody. The camp was expanded at that time to take in 2,100 men segregated from the general population of Japanese-American inmates. These were mostly and who renounced their U.S. citizenship rather than sign an oath to "give up loyalty to the Japanese emperor" (offending them, since they had no identification with the emperor and were being asked to enlist in fighting him while their Japanese-born parents were interned) and other "troublemakers" from the
Tule Lake Segregation Center.
21st century Corresponding to nationwide trends, Santa Fe has faced increasing challenges in affordability, with average rent growing by more than 40 percent from 2016 to 2021. In November 2025, Santa Fe became the first city in the United States to pass an ordinance that directly links wages to housing affordability, in an effort to address high rents and housing prices. Beginning in 2027, the city's minimum wage will be increased to $17.50 and will thereafter be increased annually based on a formula that combines the
Consumer Price Index and fair market rent data. ==Geography==