Tomé

The cerro the panel names is the center of one of the state's Good Friday pilgrimages. By the early twentieth century the Hermanos Penitentes of Tomé were climbing it to reenact the Passion and raise a cross on the summit. After the Second World War Edwin Berry, keeping a vow made as a soldier, planned a permanent cross and by September 1947 had decided on three, which stand there now. Pilgrims walk from as far as Albuquerque, some barefoot; the Town of Tomé Land Grant, which cares for the hill, removes any new crosses left behind.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Tomé For centuries, the prominent cerro, or steep hill, of Tomé was a significant landmark for travelers along the Camino Real. Settled as early as 1650, this area was abandoned following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and remained uninhabited until the Tomé Land Grant was established in the 1739. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Tomé was the center of government for the Rio Abajo district.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument — 27 mi
  Three Spanish mission churches raised over Tiwa and Tompiro pueblos east of the Manzano Mountains in the 1600s, each of its own stone, and one never finished.

More markers nearby

• Belén — 4.0 mi
• Belén — 4.1 mi
• Nina Otero-Warren (1881-1965) — 4.1 mi
• Valencia — 5.0 mi