El Rancho de las Golondrinas (The Ranch of the Swallows) is a former ranch in the northern part of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 that has been recreated as a "living museum". Going north it was the last camping place (paraje

Paraje

Paraje, a Spanish term in use among English speakers in the southwestern United States, refers to a camping place along a long distance trail where travelers customarily stopped for the night. A paraje can be a town, a village or pueblo, a caravanserai, or simply a good location for stopping...

, cf. caravanserai

Caravanserai

A caravanserai, or khan, also known as caravansary, caravansera, or caravansara in English was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey...

) on the Camino Real before reaching Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

 and a day's journey south of Santa Fe. Today, its 200 acre (0.809372 km²) is located just north of La Bajada Hill in the Caja del Rio on Los Pinos Road about 12 mi (19 km) southwest of the Santa Fe city limits.

The ranch was founded by Miguel Vega y Coca in 1710. The "living museum" recreates 18th Century Spanish colonial

Spanish colonization of the Americas

Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...

 ranch life. Guides are dressed in period clothing and demonstrate how people lived for example grinding their own flour, making their own tools, shoeing horses. There are two annual festivals at El Rancho de las Golondrinas, one in the Spring and one in October. Its acequia

Acequia

An acequia or séquia is a community-operated waterway used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Particularly in Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and the modern-day American Southwest, acequias are usually historically engineered canals that carry snow runoff or...

 system (irrigation ditch complex) is on the Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

for New Mexico.

External links

• El Rancho de las Golondrinas - "a Spanish Colonial Living History Museum in Santa Fe"