Paraje de Robledo

Pedro Robledo was about sixty, the oldest of Oñate's colonists to leave descendants in New Mexico, and the first of the company to die after it left the river crossing near El Paso. He was buried on the east side of the Rio del Norte below a large bluff, and the bluff and later the whole range, the Robledo Mountains, took his name. His granddaughter Ana, born at San Gabriel in 1604, would die not far from his grave in 1680. The army chose the same ground for Fort Selden in 1865.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Paraje de Robledo This paraje or resting place was named for Pedro Robledo, a member of the Juan de Oñate expedition, who was buried nearby on May 21, 1598. This camping place was a welcome sight for caravans entering or exiting the dreaded Jornada del Muerto, a part of the trail which had limited water. Its strategic location along the Camino Real made it an ideal site for the establishment of Fort Selden in 1865.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Mesilla Plaza — 16 mi
  A plaza laid out in 1848 by people who meant to stay in Mexico, American six years later, a stage stop and Civil War headquarters, and scene of a deadly political riot in 1871.

More markers nearby

• Fort Selden Cemetery — 0.4 mi
• Rio Grandé Bridge at Radium Springs — 0.5 mi
• Jornada del Muerto — 4.8 mi
• Paraje San Diego — 4.8 mi