Pueblo of Laguna

Laguna let the railroad cross its land on its own terms. When the Atlantic & Pacific laid track onto the reservation in 1880, the pueblo agreed only if the company hired Laguna people, and in 1922 it renewed the bargain with the Santa Fe rather than sell a right-of-way. The jobs took families west, and Laguna colonies grew up in yellow boxcars beside the tracks at Richmond, Barstow, Winslow and Gallup, set around a plaza where dances went on. The Santa Fe shut off power to the Richmond village in 1982.

What the plaque says

Pueblo of Laguna Keresan - speaking refugees from Santo Domingo, Acoma, Cochití, and other pueblos founded Laguna after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and the Spanish reconquest of 1692. Named by the Spaniards for a marshy lake to the west, the pueblo still occupies its original hilltop site today.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Acoma Sky City — 15 mi
  Haak'u, the village on a sandstone mesa west of Albuquerque, seen only on the pueblo's own tours, with a mission whose roof beams were carried on foot from Mount Taylor.

More markers nearby

• Pueblo of Laguna — steps away
• San José de la Laguna Mission — steps away
• San José de la Laguna Mission — steps away
• Susie Rayos Marmon — steps away