Misión Museum y Convento, Española, New Mexico - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

In the latter part of the sixteenth century, Spain desired to expand its colonial presence in North America. King Philip II and the viceroy of New Spain sought someone to lead an expedition up the Rio Grande into “Nuevo Mexico” and create a settlement. That person would be named governor of the whole area as well as captain-general of the military. There was a catch however, whoever was chosen would have to fund most of the expedition himself.

In spite of this condition, there were several willing candidates. The honor eventually fell to Juan de Oñate, son of a conquistador and wealthy mine owner. In 1598, Oñate led a caravan of about 400 hundred men, some with their families, and a lot of livestock up the Rio Grande. (This pre-dates the arrival of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts by about 20 years.) They settled with the Caypa pueblo on the east side of the Rio Grande, which Oñate renamed San Juan (present-day Ohkay Owingeh, just north of Española).

Only a few months later, the Spanish moved their settlement to the west side of the Rio Grande and named it San Gabriel. Here they built pueblo-like dwellings, a military garrison and a church called San Miguel. Since Juan de Oñate was already governor, San Gabriel became the seat of government of the new Spanish province.

The site proved difficult to defend and in 1610, the seat of government was moved to a new settlement named Santa Fe. Juan de Oñate didn’t stay for long either. His heavy-handed treatment of the Acoma Indians following some clashes with the settlers and his mistreatment of his own people caused him to be permanently banished from New Mexico in 1609. The settlement at San Gabriel dwindled and was eventually abandoned and the site was almost lost to history.

There was a substantial archeological study of the San Gabriel site made by the University of New Mexico in the 1960s but since then, the site has been plowed over and planted with alfalfa. Today, nothing remains but a small monument and a cross.

Since this former part of New Spain is now part of the United States, the U.S. issued a postage stamp in 1998 commemorating the 1598 settlement by the Spanish. Juan de Oñate claimed the entire Rio Grande drainage area for Spain, an area substantially larger than present-day New Mexico, hence the stamp is inscribed “Spanish Settlement of the Southwest.”

The structure shown on the stamp is a replica of the sixteenth-century San Gabriel church built in 1996 and located in downtown Española. It’s part of the “Plaza de Española” and serves as a museum featuring local art.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 11-Jul-1998 Denomination: 32c Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: Not listed

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