Become a Member

HISTORY OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW MEXICO

On December 26, 1859, a group of twenty-five influential men representing a wide variety of New Mexico’s interests gathered to approve the constitution and by-laws of the Historical Society of New Mexico. The mission of the new organization was to collect and preserve all “historical facts, manuscripts, documents, records and memoirs” relating to New Mexico, as well as to collect “Indian antiquities and curiosities, geological and mineralogical specimens, geographical maps and information, and objects of natural history.”

On January 30, 1860, the new Society convened for their first regular meeting in a hall rented from Bishop Jean Lamy, who also was one of several new members. Two days later, the New Mexico Territorial Legislature approved HSNM’s Act of Incorporation. Membership quickly grew, with representatives of the military, religious, business, and political circles. For example, early members included Rev. Jean Salpointe (later Bishop of Arizona and Archbishop of New Mexico); Aaron and William Zeckendorf (Jewish businessmen of Santa Fe and Albuquerque); Elias Brevoort (an entrepreneur who later wrote about a book about New Mexico’s natural resources); S. A. Hubbell (a judge); Col. Benjamin L. E. Bonneville (who was famous for his 1832 military expedition in 1832 searching for a route to Oregon); Sylvester Mowry (mine owner of Cerro Colorado near Tubac, Arizona—at this time still part of New Mexico); Ceran St. Vrain (the famous mountain man and fur trader of Taos who helped found Bent’s Fort in southeastern Colorado); and José Guadalupe Gallegos (New Mexico territorial legislator and former San Miguel County sheriff).

However, just as the Society found its footing, the outbreak of the Civil War disrupted its progress. In June of 1861 the Society’s president, Col. J. B. Grayson, joined several other Army officers who resigned their commission to join the Confederate forces in the East. A month later, Confederate troops under Lt. Col. John Baylor entered Mesilla in southern New Mexico. The following January, more Confederate troops under Gen. Henry Sibley arrived and headed up the Rio Grande, reaching Glorieta Pass before being turned back. The Confederates were forced to retreat back down the Rio Grande, leaving New Mexico in June of 1862. Turmoil continued their departure even after the arrival of Gen. James Carleton and his California Volunteers.

Meanwhile, the Historical Society of New Mexico tried to continue as usual, but the loss of so many members as they left the territory combined with the disruption of business was too much. So on September 23, 1863, the remaining members adjourned sine dei, and the curator commenced disbursing the Society’s furnishings and collections to pay their debts.

For the next nineteen years, the Society lay dormant until David J. Miller, the chief clerk and translator for the Federal Surveyor General, and Louis Felsenthal, one of the original charter members, decided to resurrect the Historical Society of New Mexico, calling a meeting for December 26, the anniversary date of the original organization date. Following an enthusiastic response, regular meetings commenced in January of 1881, and William G. Ritch, New Mexico Territorial Secretary and later governor, was elected as president.

In 1883, L. Bradford Prince, at the time the Chief Justice of the Territorial Supreme Court, and later a territorial governor and legislator, was elected president, the position he would hold until his death in 1922. Under his guidance the Society’s grew. In 1884, the Territorial Legislature commenced providing the organization $400 a year. In addition, its collection grew to the point that the organization needed permanent spacious quarters to house and display it. Consequently, in 1885 the Society opened a museum in the east end of the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, the only territorial sponsored museum until 1909. That year the legislature established the Museum of New Mexico (the present-day New Mexico History Museum), which was housed in the west end of the Palace of the Governors. The two entities coexisted, sometimes under tense circumstances, in the same building for the next several years.

Unfortunately, when L. Bradford Prince died in 1922, there was no one available to step forward to take the helm of the Historical Society of New Mexico. Consequently, its museum operations and oversight of its collections fell to the Museum of New Mexico. This arrangement continued until the Society donated all of its collections to the Museum of New Mexico in 1970.

Despite not having a physical museum, still provided a key service by being the official guardian of the archives of the State of New Mexico from 1927 to 1960. With the establishment of an archives department at the State Records Center and Archives in Santa Fe, the Society relinquished its role to the state.

Since the 1880s, the Historical Society of New Mexico had partnered with the government to preserve New Mexico’s history. From 1884 into the 1950s, this included receiving an appropriation from the state to help subsidize first the museum and later the archives. However, with the state taking full control of the archives, the two entities broke formal ties. Facing another crossroads, the membership of the Historical Society of New Mexico decided to continue its role in preserving the state’s history, reorganizing and reincorporating HSNM as a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization. An all-volunteer board assumed operation of the Society and commenced continuing or creating new programs. Today, a board of 25 volunteers still operates the organization without the services of a paid staff or brick-and-mortar office.

The Historical Society of New Mexico is proud to still strive to fulfill the mission it was given by those charter members in December of 1859 to increase knowledge of and ultimately preserve the widely diverse and long history of New Mexico. We invite everyone to explore our website to learn more about these programs and hopefully join us in our passion for New Mexico history.

HSNM Past Presidents

  • Col. John B. Grayson
  • Maj. J. L. Donaldson
  • Kirby Benedict
  • William G. Rich
  • L. Bradford Prince
  • Frank W. Clancy
  • Ralph E. Twitchell
  • Paul A. F. Walter
  • Calvin Horn
  • Victor Westphall
  • Jack D. Rittenhouse
  • Ronald F. Dickey
  • Lorraine Lavender
  • Albert H. Schroeder
  • John P. Conron
  • Spencer Wilson
  • Robert White
  • John Grassham
  • Robert Tórrez
  • Margaret Espinosa McDonald
  • Rick Hendricks
  • Richard Melzer
  • Michael G. Stevenson
  • Janet Saiers
  • Dennis Reinhartz