The Santa Fe Trail set out in 1821 used until 1880 when it ceased with the advent of the Railroad. Historic Route 66. In this area follows the Santa Fe Trail, using the same route into Santa Fe, through the Pecos Valley and the Glorieta Pass.
Now part of the Pecos National Park, near Pecos, San Miguel County, New Mexico. This portion of the National Historic Park was donated by movie actress Greer Garson.
Kozlowski's Historic Trading Post and Santa Fe Trail Interpretive Material & You are Here map. is located in the North side of the parking lot, and reads as follows:
Pecos and the Santa Fe Trail
"The low spot on the horizon before you is Glorieta Pass with Glorieta Mesa to your left and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to your right. For centuries people used this natural corridor for travel and trade. In the nineteenth century it was the route of the Santa Fe Trail, a trade route between Franklin, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The trail was actively used from 1821 until the railroad came through in 1880. Present day New Mexico Highway 63 follows its path. The building across the parking lot was once Kozlowski's State Station, one of the final rest stops before the much-anticipated end of the 900-mile journey.
Fresh Fish Dinner - Perhaps the most famous owner of the building to your left was Martin Kozlowski, a Polish immigrant who purchased the 600-acre ranch located along the Santa Fe Trail in 1861. Kozlowski's Stage Station was a highlight for traders along the trail because meals often included freshly caught brown trout from Glorieta Creek. Kozlowski successfully ran the stage station until 1880 when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad completed its maiden run to Santa Fe, making the Santa Fe Tail obsolete.
Cowboy Entrepreneur - Tex Austin purchased Kozlowski's Ranch in 1924 envisioning a summer recreational ranch with customers coming from the East by train. Austin's customers paid $125 per week to round up cattle and stay in his newly constructed guesthouse. Eventually the ranch was purchased by Texas oilman Colonel E.E> "Buddy" Fogelson and his wife, actress Greer Garson Fogelson." Text Source: (
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The Historic Stagecoach Stop and Trading Post Marker is located on The front of the building.
This plaque is listed in the Historical Marker database.
The Inscription on the Plaque Reads:
"Historic Stagecoach Stop and Trading Post.
Built in 1810.
Placed by the New Mexico State Society
Daughters of of the American colonists.
Dedicated January 20,1990.
In grateful appreciation to Greer Garsen Fogelson,
and E.E. Buddy Fogelson."
Santa Fe Trail:
"There are not only Santa Fe Trail ruts at Pecos National Historical Park, but also other visible forms of trail history, including the storied stage stop and trading post that once belonged to Martin Kozlowski.
During the Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass--when the Santa Fe Trail in this part of the country became a military trail--Kozlowski's was used by the Union Army as its headquarters, for encampment, and for medical care. However, there is as well a rich history at this site before and after the Civil War battle.
Westward expansion played an important role in the use, development and demise of the trail. And as the Santa Fe Trail increased its variety of travelers headed west--trappers, traders, Gold Rush and other fortune seekers, adventurers, journalists, naturalists, and everyday Americans--the route became central to the story of the expansion and development of the United States.
Journeying on the trail from Missouri to the New Mexico was long and arduous, and there were many stops along the way...Boone's Lick, Switzler Creek, Lost Spring, Point of Rocks to name a few...but you can visit one of the most welcome stops right here at Pecos National Historical Park: Kozlowski's stage stop and trading post. You can see the structure (and learn the story of what happened at Kozlowski's, and when visitors took detours to the mysterious Indian ruins nearby) when you sign up for one of the park's ranger-guided tours." Text Source: (
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