THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL: CONNECTING A NETWORK OF PATHS
Opening November 2024
Ready to take our harrowing journey from New Mexico to Los Angeles on a network of crude mule and footpaths webbing what is now South West Colorado, North West New Mexico, Southern Utah and Northern Arizona? By the way, it’s dangerous, sprawling unmapped and 2,700 miles long. Welcome to the Old Spanish Trail.
“The Old Spanish Trail: Connecting a Network of Paths” traces this trail’s fascinating history through illustrated wall panels, textiles, and many artifacts. The Old Spanish Trail was established in 1829 by Mexican trader Antonio Armijo who needed a direct trade route between New Mexico and Los Angeles to move his goods. Armijo led a caravan of 60 men and 100 mules to blaze a trail across Nevada.
Called “the longest, crookedest, most arduous pack mule train in the history of America”, the Old Spanish Trail is both one of the nation’s least known trails and one of the most important pack mule trading trails in this region.
This exhibit runs November 15, 2024–May 12, 2025.
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