Albuquerque

Cuervo's founding was partly on paper. On April 24, 1706, he wrote the viceroy, the Duke of Alburquerque whose name the villa took, that thirty-five families of 252 people were settled here, laid out as the Laws of the Indies required; the law set a floor of thirty families. A 1712 inquiry found the villa may have lacked them, and a founder, Juan Candelaria, later listed twenty-three founders: twelve families, ten soldiers and a priest. What Cuervo had was scattered riverside farms. The town later dropped the duke's first r.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Albuquerque In 1706 New Mexico Governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés founded the Villa de Alburquerque (now spelled Albuquerque). Here, the Camino Real wound its way through a series of farming and ranching communities to a nearby ford, linking the road to settlements on the west bank of the Rio Grande. Albuquerque retains its original plan with streets radiating from a central plaza. The 1793 San Felipe de Neri Church and Rectory remain from the Spanish Colonial period and most historic buildings around the plaza date from c.1870 to c.1900. See other side Continued Albuquerque was the main commercial center for the Rio Grande valley until the 1880 arrival of the railroad, one-and-a-half miles east of the plaza. Growth and development centered on the railroad and "New" Albuquerque. Now Known as Plaza Vieja or Old Town, the plaza, plan of narrow streets, and historic buildings are representative of a traditional Hispanic city.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Petroglyph National Monument — 5.3 mi
  Some 24,000 images pecked into the dark basalt of Albuquerque's West Mesa, protected in 1990 and then crossed by a city boulevard.

More markers nearby

• Founding Women of Albuquerque — steps away
• La Doctora María Dolores Gonzáles — 1.4 mi
• Harvey Girls / Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, 1869 - 1958 — 1.5 mi
• Crossroads at Martineztown — 1.7 mi