Birthplace of Elizabeth Gutiérrez Garrett

She lost her sight at or soon after her birth at the Garrett home on Eagle Creek, outside Alto, on October 9, 1885, and at six she was sent to the Texas School for the Blind in Austin, where she trained in voice and piano. She composed the song in 1915, and the legislature later paid her a monthly stipend for life for its use. She also wrote the school song for New Mexico's school for the blind, counted Helen Keller a friend, and died in 1947 after a fall while out walking with her guide dog in Roswell.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Birthplace of Elizabeth Gutiérrez Garrett (1885-1947) Elizabeth Gutiérrez Garret wrote the words and music to "O, Fair New Mexico" adopted as New Mexico's state song in 1917. A talented soprano and composer, Elizabeth performed her own songs in concerts across the country. Blind since childhood, Elizabeth served on the Board of Regents of the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, where a residence hall now bears her name. She was the daughter of famed 19th-century lawman, Pat Garrett. Official Scenic Historic Marker New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative The New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative was founded in 2005 by members of the New Mexico Women's Forum in a statewide effort to recognize women's contributions to New Mexico history on the state's Official Scenic Historic Markers. The Initiative ensures that women's diverse histories will be remembered and told, and will inspire and provide a guide for future generations. The 2006 Legislature funded the project.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Smokey Bear Historical Park — 12 mi
  The small park in Capitan where the living Smokey Bear is buried, a cub found clinging to a burned tree in the Capitan Mountains in 1950, six years after the cartoon was invented.
• Lincoln Historic Site — 18 mi
  One street of adobe in the Bonito valley kept much as it was in the 1870s, where the Lincoln County War was fought over who would supply Fort Stanton and the Mescalero agency.
• Three Rivers Petroglyph Site — 19 mi
  More than 21,000 petroglyphs on a basalt ridge above the Tularosa Basin, one of the few places in the Southwest set aside for its rock art alone, walked on a rough half-mile trail.

More markers nearby

• Old Dowlin Mill — 7.2 mi
• Fort Stanton — 11 mi
• Capitán — 11 mi
• Capitán — 12 mi