Connecting the eastern United States to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and on to Mexico, the Santa Fe Trail was an important commerce route in the 19th century. Invaluable to the westward expansion of the United States and the development of trade with Mexican areas
There was a terrible massacre in the American Southwest in 1846 known as the Santa Fe Trail Murders or the Kuykendall Massacre. A group of settlers and merchants, led by Captain Philip St. George Cooke, were making their way from Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico along the Santa Fe Trail in June of that year.
Often called the “Main Street of America,” Route 66 is a renowned highway that had a profound impact on American history, geography, and culture. Originally established in 1926, this legendary highway covered eight states and more than 2,400 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica.
An important turning point in the history of American expansion occurred during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). Tensions between Texas and Mexico erupted into a full-scale war due to territorial issues and competing interpretations of the border between the two countries. The annexation of Texas by the United States and the ideology of “Manifest Destiny” only inflamed the need for expansion.
During the 1930s, the Great Plains were hit hard by the Dust Bowl, a tragic period in American history. Dust storms were more frequent and more intense, and broad ecological deterioration occurred, all as a result of a confluence of environmental, agricultural, and economic forces. The land’s indigenous grasses were wiped out by intensive plowing, and the topsoil was destabilized by the effects of drought and the Great Depression.
Located in New Mexico, USA, Carlsbad Caverns National Park has a fascinating history that spans millennia. Native Americans and explorers have been captivated by the cave system’s mysterious underground caverns and structures for centuries. Although the caverns were discovered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they did not become popular until much later.
Famous Apache chief Geronimo is an interesting and pivotal person in Native American resistance and American frontier history. Goyahkla (later shortened to Geronimo) was born in 1829 in what is now Arizona and rose to prominence as a leader of the Chiricahua Apache people.
Roswell The city of Roswell, New Mexico, has a rich and unusual history that has captivated people all over the world. In 1947, it rose to prominence after stories surfaced of a possible UFO crash in the surrounding desert. Known as the “Roswell UFO Incident,” it is still widely discussed and considered a landmark case …
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a spectacular scientific and engineering feat with far-reaching ramifications for the globe, and it was also one of the most covert projects in human history. During World War II, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada collaborated on a top-secret research and development initiative to create nuclear weapons. …
The terrible death of the great Apache chief Geronimo is linked to the New Mexico fort known as Fort Sumner. During the Navajo Long Walk, when the tribe was forcibly relocated to the Bosque Redondo Reservation, the soldiers constructed a fort in 1862 and gave it the name Fort Sumner. Its original purpose was to imprison and control members of the Navajo and Mescalero Apache tribes.
