Santa Cruz

History

The area that was later to be occupied by the village of Santa Cruz de la Cañada is located 25 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a half-mile east of Española, New Mexico, at 5,655 feet AMSL, and UTM NAD 83, Z-13S, 404927E, 3983643N in the valley of the Santa Cruz River half-mile from its confluence with the Rio Grande. Upon arrival of Spanish conquistadores in 1540, the Santa Cruz area was inhabited by Tewa speakers (descendants of "Ancestral Puebloans," formerly referred to as "Anasazi"), and after Vargas' "reconquests" (of the Pueblo Revolt) of 1692 and 1696, by southern Tewa (or Tano) who had been relocated from the Galisteo Basin, 45 miles south, as a result of Vargas' Spanish repopulation efforts on behalf of the Spanish Crown. Among the best reference materials for this history is: "The Pueblo Indian Revolt of 1696 and the Franciscan Missions in New Mexico" by J. Manuel Espinosa (1991). The nearby, and unsuccessful, Spanish colony at San Gabriel established by the explorer Juan de Oñate at Ohkay Owingeh in 1598 produced Spanish haciendas and ranchos in the vicinity. During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Hispanic settlers were forced to leave the area. In 1695, following the Reconquest of 1692-1694 and the second Pueblo Revolt in 1696, Governor and Captain General of New Mexico, Don Diego de Vargas reestablished the Hispanic settlement. It was established as a new Spanish villa for those that had arrived from Mexico City as settlers and participants in the military campaigns during the reconquest. It was named Villa Nueva de Santa Cruz de los Españoles Mejicanos del Rey Nuestro Señor Carlos Segundo (The New Town of the Holy Cross of Mexican Spaniards under the King Our Lord Charles II). It later shortened simply to Santa Cruz de la Cañada (la Cañada…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.7 square mile (1.8 km), all land.

Largest nearby schools

• POJOAQUE HIGH
  High · SANTA FE · 636 students · 19.9:1 ratio
• MCCURDY CHARTER SCHOOL
  Other · ESPANOLA · 540 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• PABLO ROYBAL ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · SANTA FE · 428 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• POJOAQUE MIDDLE
  Middle · SANTA FE · 262 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• TONY QUINTANA ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · ESPANOLA · 210 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• POJOAQUE INTERMEDIATE
  Elementary · SANTA FE · 187 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• SIXTH GRADE ACADEMY
  Middle · POJOAQUE · 117 students · 19.5:1 ratio