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Cerrillos is a small village in New Mexico. It sits along the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway, not too far from Santa Fe.
History
The area around Cerrillos has been known for its mines since the 10th century. Native Americans mined galena and turquoise while the Spaniards found lead, gold, and silver. The Spaniards used local natives as slave labor to extract the treasures from the mines, but the natives protested and covered up any existence of the mines.
In 1879, two prospectors from Leadville, Colorado, rediscovered the mines. Word spread quickly, and people began to flock to the area in search of gold, silver, lead, and turquoise. A tent town sprung up.
By the end of 1880 there were several thousand prospectors, at least 21 saloons, five brothels, four hotels, and an opera house. Over 4,000 prospecting pits and mines were dug in the area, but mining peaked in the mid 1880s. It ceased altogether in the 1920s.
Today, Cerrillos is a tiny village with dirt streets and a handful of original buildings. A few movies have been filmed there, most notably Young Guns (1988). There are a few art galleries and a saloon is open for business, and the Cerrillos Hills State Park nearby has five miles of trails.
Simoni Building
One of the surviving historic buildings is the Simoni Building. It was built in 1892 by E.W. Callendar and originally served as a hotel. In 1918, Antonio Simoni purchased the building and converted it into a mercantile store and saloon. It remained in his family until 2014.
St. Joseph’s Church
St. Joseph’s Church (Iglesia de San José) was built in 1922 to replace an earlier church dating back to 1884. It was constructed under the direction of Franciscan Father Hesse and currently belongs to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
Casa Grande Trading Post
Casa Grande Trading Post is the biggest tourist attraction in town. It contains a gift shop and petting zoo as well as the quirky Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum. All three are open most days and weekends.
First, we stopped by a scenic viewpoint overlooking the Galisteo River. The Galisteo Basin drains the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains and contains several important archaeological sites, mostly closed to the public.
Next, we stopped by the petting zoo, where there are some goats, llamas, and other small animals. They come up to the fence when fed. Food is available in the gift shop for US$4 (as of May 2024).
From there, we walked through the gift shop, where there’s all kinds of stuff imaginable for sale. There seemed to be thousands of different minerals available including turquoise, as well as handmade jewelry and antique bottles. There are even Civil War bullets and carbine cartridges.
Mining Museum
The Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum is accessed through the gift shop. Admission is US$4 (as of May 2024). It contains a disorganized mishmash of what seems to be junk, and that’s exactly what it was at one point.
The owners of the museum would collect and preserve antiques and artifacts people had discarded or left to the elements in their backyards. They include everyday tools and household items as well as items used during the mining period from Native American to Wild West times.
It’s fun to walk through and discover some of the treasures in the museum, and there are several interesting pieces to find. The owners also have a good sense of humor and have used their creativity to set up some great displays.
One interesting fact is that the museum sits on the site of the Palace Hotel. Thomas Edison (1847-1931) stayed there while working on experiments using gold; writer and New Mexico Territorial Governor Lew Wallace (1827-1905) drafted Ben-Hur there; and Theodore Roosevelt recruited cowboys at the hotel to join the Rough Riders and fight in Cuba.
