Tucumcari Mountain

Pedro Vial saw the mountain on his way home. A Frenchman in Spain's service, he traveled from Santa Fe to St. Louis and back to open a route between them, and on the return in 1793 his diary notes that, leaving the river on his right, he made out Tuconcari to the south, a name already in use. On this panel and its twin the date sits under what looks like a patch over its middle digits, and both copies print Santa Fe as Sante Fe.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Tucumcari Mountain Tucumcari Mountain has long been a landmark for travelers along the Canadian River. Pathfinder Pedro Vial mentioned it in 1793, while opening a trail between Sante Fe and St. Louis. In order to find the best route from Arkansas to California, Capt. Randolph B. Marcy led an ex- pedition past here in 1849. The town of Tucumcari was founded in 1901 and takes its name from the moun- tain, which signaled people traveling Route 66 and Interstate 40 that rest was nearby.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Blue Swallow Motel — 1.5 mi
  A twelve-room tourist court on Tucumcari's stretch of Route 66, built in 1939, run for four decades by one woman, and lit by one of the most photographed motel signs on the road.

More markers nearby

• Tucumcari — steps away
• Comanche Country — 0.8 mi
• Tucumcari — 1.5 mi
• Tucumcari Mountain — 2.7 mi