Puerto de Luna
Puerto de Luna
photo courtesy of Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce
Follow the lush, green valley along the Pecos River, ten miles south on Hwy 91, to the historic village of Puerto de Luna.
Although there is no historical documentation, a story is told about Francisco Vasquez de Coronado camping here in 1541 on his way east in search of Quivira. The story goes that he saw the moon rise through a mountain gap in the east and exclaimed "Puerto de luna!," which means "gateway of the moon" in Spanish, and thus, the town was named. Some traditions have Coronado building a bridge across the Pecos River in this area, making it the first bridge to be built in New Mexico.
These are fun stories, but actually the origin of the town's name is more predictable. The Luna family lived at the mouth of Puerto Creek in the 1860s and then later moved to the present location, where many of their descendants still live.
In the 1880s, Puerto de Luna was the Guadalupe County seat, with 1,500 residents, but the community later was overshadowed by Santa Rosa and the seat moved there. Now only 200 people reside in Puerto de Luna. Locals often call it by its initials, PDL.
For a special insight into Puerto de Luna, pick up a copy of writer Rudolfo Anaya's book, "Bless Me, Ultima." Anaya grew up in the area in the 1940s, and this book beautifully describes the people and land. Anaya is one of New Mexico's most loved and revered writers. He described the wide llano where "the grass was as high and as green as the waves of the ocean."
Visit the original Guadalupe County Courthouse in Puerto de Luna, built in the mid-1800s and a symbol of law and order for an 1,800 square mile area. Also visit the mid-1800s church, Nuestra Senora del Refugio. Puerto de Luna's plaza and old business district have many classic examples of adobe architecture.
The Grzelachowski House once resided in this area. It was originally built as a Territorial House in 1870 by Alexander Grzelachowski. On Christmas Eve in 1880, Billy the Kid, in the custody of Pat Garrett, was served his last Christmas dinner while being transported to trial.
