Inscription
This is the oldest transcontinental road in North America. It reached its full historical length of over 2,000 miles with the expedition of Juan de Oñate in 1598, connecting Mexico City to the generally recognized terminus of Santa Fe. The “Royal Road” had a singular impact on the northern Southwest, bringing European culture, architecture, music, textiles, agricultural practices and disease.
It was the primary route for exploration, conquest, trade and colonization to the northern provinces of New Spain for more than 250 years.
Location
Sources
More markers in Dona Ana
Bartlett Garcia Continental Survey Point
Picacho Hills, NM
On April 24, 1851, John Russell Bartlett for the United States and Pedro Garcia-Conde for the Republic of Mexico, erected near here a...
Butterfield Trail
In 1858, American Express Company co-founder John Butterfield secured a $600,000 government contract to establish the first...
Disappearance of Albert J. Fountain and his son Henry
Las Cruces, NM
Albert Jennings Fountain was a Civil War veteran, New Mexico legislator and prominent lawyer.
Dona Ana
This site is first mentioned as a paraje along the Camino Real when the Spanish rested near here as they retreated from New Mexico...
El Camino Real the King’s Highway
Juan de Oñate, first governor of New Mexico, passed near here with his colonizing expedition in May 1598.
