1953 Map of San Juan Pueblo

About this map

The confluence of the Rio Chama and the Rio Grande anchors this 1953 survey, a landscape defined by century-spanning land grants and traditional New Mexican settlements. Local history is deeply rooted here, marked by the site of the Old San Juan First Spanish Capitol 1598 near the vibrant center of San Juan Pueblo. The map documents a rural corridor of small farming communities and ranches along the river valleys, including Hernandez, Alcalde, and Los Luceros, while the heights of Black Mesa and Mesa Prieta rise to the west. Evidence of the mid-century local economy appears in the Pumice Pit and Diatomaceous Earth Pit operations. Transportation is represented by the Kit Carson Highway and remnants of an Old Railroad Grade, showing how modern infrastructure began to overlay the older patterns of the Lobato Grant and Sebastian Martin Grant.