Welcome to Galisteo & Lamy
Tucked among the wide gentle hills of the Galisteo Basin, an area that has been inhabited since as early as 7500 to 6000 B.C., is a village founded in 1816, right before the birth of the Santa Fe Trail, a major commercial artery running from Missouri to Santa Fe from 1821 until 1880 when the Santa Fe Railroad arrived and made this thriving thoroughfare obsolete (galisteobasinpreserve.com). Yet the Village of Galisteo survives to this day, and you can step back in time among the historic adobe homes, and soak up the beauty of the Galisteo Creek with its lines of giant cottonwoods, and the vast grasslands stretching in all directions, with beautiful views of the Ortiz Mountains on the horizon.
Adjacent to Galisteo is the historic village of Lamy, previously known as Galisteo Junction and renamed after the first Archbishop of Santa Fe, Jean-Baptiste Lamy. Founded in 1880, Lamy was born when the Santa Fe Railroad unexpectedly opted to bypass Santa Fe City due to engineering difficulties with the mountainous terrain and instead passed through Lamy. The Pflueger General Merchandise Store opened in 1881, with the Annex Saloon added in 1884, still standing in the incarnation of The Legal Tender Saloon, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The luxurious Harvey House, El Ortiz Hotel, followed soon after in 1896, and the Mission Revival-style train depot was built in 1909.
Lamy was often the first stop in New Mexico for travelers, including scientists en route to the secret city of Los Alamos in the 1940s, and it continues to be a daily stop on the Amtrak line between Los Angeles and Chicago. The creation of Route 66 and the rise of the automobile capped Lamy’s development potential, however, the village is still a destination for artists, history buffs, and anyone seeking space, serenity, and communing with nature. The Lamy Depot is the end of the line for the Santa Fe Rail Trail, a 15-mile hiking and biking trail between Santa Fe & Lamy, and for Sky Railway, an arts and adventure train started by George R.R. Martin and a group of Santa Fe railroad enthusiasts.
Both villages are intimate, with fewer than 300 residents, and steeped in history, mystique, and natural beauty. Spectacular views and peaceful living abound in these rural wonderlands.
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Galisteo
Lamy
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