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Destination: Tijeras
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| Veterans Memorial |
Parade (Down Route 66) |
Tijeras Pueblu |
Tijeras Canyon |
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| Why Visit? |
| Overview: |
Tijeras is the Southern Gateway to the Turquoise Trail. Tijeras is spanish for "scissors", where 2 the canyons come together. It is located at the western entrance to the Tijeras canyon on Historic Highway 66. The Turquoise Trail officially starts at the Cibola National Forest Ranger Station, which is on the south side of the village and is well worth the stop. The Pueblo people left in the 1500's and the Spanish arrived over 280 years ago. Tijeras has become the active crossroads for almost everyone east of Albuquerque.
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| Special Features: |
Historic Spanish Village, Southern Gateway of Turquoise Trail |
| Background: |
In the northeast part of Tijeras known as Zamora are two thick-walled adobe homes that locals claim are 280 years old. Until that can be verified however, history will read that European settlement of the village of Tijeras began in 1819, less than one year after Albuquerque’s Spanish residents founded the community of San Antonio a bit farther north. Settlers there quickly discovered the limitations of San Antonio’s water sources, and soon petitioned the government for additional land near what’s now called Tijeras Creek—land that has since become Tijeras.
In 1862, a brigade of Confederate soldiers made camp there, and one soldier noted that the settlement had evolved into “a sort of ranch,” with a mill powered by a narrow stream. By 1880, that ranch had become the Sandias’ second most populous community. Over time, and aided by its location at Route 66 and Interstate 40’s junctions with State Highway 14, Tijeras has become the active crossroads for almost everyone east of Albuquerque, as well as the only Sandia town with traffic lights. Tijeras is a village—an incorporated one—but it’s a village in the mountains, and in the holes between roads and buildings, the mountains show through clearly.
Text adapted with permission from Mike Smith’s Towns of the Sandia Mountains. |
| History: |
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| Status: |
Active Historic Community |
| TTPT Contact: |
Ken Lundy, Sr. |
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| Trip Planning Facts |
| Best Time to Visit: |
All Year, Spring & Fall are wonderful times to visit |
| Hours: |
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| Byway Segment: |
Highway 14 (Southern Gateway) |
| Mile Post: |
00.0 ~ The Turquise Trail starts at the Ranger Station (South side of the Village) |
| Road Access: |
Paved roads throughout the Village |
| Elevation: |
6,322 Feet |
| Address: |
Tijeras, NM 87059 |
| County: |
Bernalillo |
| GEO Coordinates: |
35.086753 | -106.372806 |
| Census: |
474 people (2000) |
| Near By: |
Route 66, Tijeras Canyon, San Antonio, Cedar Crest, |
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| Preservation |
| Historic Markers: |
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