Santa Fe Plaza Obelisk - Santa Fe, New Mexico
Posted by: 
GT.US
N 35° 41.252 W 105° 56.309
13S E 415083 N 3949697
This war memorial obelisk is located in the plaza of downtown Sante Fe.
Waymark Code: WM8AC7
Location: New Mexico, United States
Date Posted: 02/28/2010
Views: 15
The obelisk was erected in 1868.
Each side has an inscription.
One sides inscription read: "To the heroes who have fallen in various battles with savage Indians in the Territory of New Mexico."
but a word was removed so it now reads: "To the heroes who have fallen in various battles with Indians in the Territory of New Mexico."
The website at (
visit link) tells this additional information about the plaza and the obelisk:
"Since 1821, the Plaza has marked the end of the 800-mile (1,290 km) long Santa Fe Trail. Until the railroad was constructed in 1880, it was the major trade route from Independence, Missouri to the Southwest. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine wagon trains and stagecoaches rumbling through the square bringing the first gringos (white settlers). Adventurers, entrepreneurs and fortune seekers poured in and the town was quite a rowdy place with bars and brothels galore.
At the outbreak of the 1846 Mexican-American War, New Mexico was occupied by U.S. troops and became U.S. territory two years later. Walk up to the obelisk and read the plaque. It recalls the brief Confederate occupation in 1862. Within only a month’s time, the town was retaken by the Union and became the capital of the 47th state in 1912. In the late 19th century, legendary outlaw Billy the Kid was supposedly kept in chains in the Plaza before he was transferred to a secure jail."