Embudo Historic District, Embudo, NM
**Embudo Historic District** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 79001547, date listed 3/12/1979
U.S. 64
Embudo, NM (Rio Arriba County)
Located approximately mid-way between the northern New Mexico towns of Espanola and Taos, the Embudo Historic District lies in the narrow canon of the Rio Grande on the river's west bank. "Embudo" (funnel), the name given by Spanish settlers in the 17th century, well describes this part of the canon where its rocky hillsides, covered with cactus and juniper trees, rise steeply from the banks of the swiftly flowing river.
Situated on a small plain where the valley suddenly widens, the historic district embraces a complex of structures erected circa 1880 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, familiarly known in Mew Mexico as the "Chili Line." Also within the district, at its south end where the canon again narrows sharply, is the U.S. Geological Survey Embudd Stream Gaging Station. Established in 1888 by order of Major John Wesley Powell, famous western explorer and pioneer hydrographer, the gaging station is the first unit of its kind to be built anywhere.
Within the boundaries of northern New Mexico's Embudo Historic District two elements are combined to make the area worthy of historic recognition. These include the cluster of original structures erected circa 1880 to service an important stop on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and the site of the first stream gaging station established by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1888, a significant advance in the science of hydrology.
Seventeenth century Spanish documents indicate that the first settlements in the region to bear the name "Embudo" was at the present village of Dixon, two and one-half miles north where Embudo Creek flows into the Rio Grande. Because of its location on a main route between Taos and Santa Fe, Embudo was often mentioned in the accounts of New Mexico travelers, from 18th century Hispanic churchmen to 19th century U.S. military observers and contemporary railroad enthusiasts who were fascinated by the line's narrow gauge construction and the atmosphere of northern New Mexico. (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg...
Embudo Historic District, Embudo, NM
**Embudo Historic District** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 79001547, date listed 3/12/1979
U.S. 64
Embudo, NM (Rio Arriba County)
Located approximately mid-way between the northern New Mexico towns of Espanola and Taos, the Embudo Historic District lies in the narrow canon of the Rio Grande on the river's west bank. "Embudo" (funnel), the name given by Spanish settlers in the 17th century, well describes this part of the canon where its rocky hillsides, covered with cactus and juniper trees, rise steeply from the banks of the swiftly flowing river.
Situated on a small plain where the valley suddenly widens, the historic district embraces a complex of structures erected circa 1880 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, familiarly known in Mew Mexico as the "Chili Line." Also within the district, at its south end where the canon again narrows sharply, is the U.S. Geological Survey Embudd Stream Gaging Station. Established in 1888 by order of Major John Wesley Powell, famous western explorer and pioneer hydrographer, the gaging station is the first unit of its kind to be built anywhere.
Within the boundaries of northern New Mexico's Embudo Historic District two elements are combined to make the area worthy of historic recognition. These include the cluster of original structures erected circa 1880 to service an important stop on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and the site of the first stream gaging station established by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1888, a significant advance in the science of hydrology.
Seventeenth century Spanish documents indicate that the first settlements in the region to bear the name "Embudo" was at the present village of Dixon, two and one-half miles north where Embudo Creek flows into the Rio Grande. Because of its location on a main route between Taos and Santa Fe, Embudo was often mentioned in the accounts of New Mexico travelers, from 18th century Hispanic churchmen to 19th century U.S. military observers and contemporary railroad enthusiasts who were fascinated by the line's narrow gauge construction and the atmosphere of northern New Mexico. (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg...