Santa Fe 1880: Chronicles from the Year of the Railroad

by Allen R. Steele

The sleepy frontier capital of Santa Fe transformed abruptly in 1880. The city, already a vibrant mix of cultures, jolted suddenly into the industrial age when it was inundated with hordes of newcomers from the East. The freshly laid tracks of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway provided easy access to the Wild West and changed the city almost overnight. Learn about the daily lives and surprising adventures of its local inhabitants, including Sisters of Charity challenging the establishment, Buffalo Soldiers pursuing an Apache chief across the desert and Billy the Kid's escape from prison. Author Allen R. Steele recounts these events and more from firsthand accounts of that dynamic year.

160 pages, Paperback

Published April 15, 2019

Reviews

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I especially enjoyed the pictures of early Santa Fe around 1880. The title is somewhat misleading as the consistent thread through the book isn't necessarily the railroad but a nun named Blandina Segale of the Sisters of Charity. There are lots of quotes from the Santa Fe New Mexican Newspaper. The author draws upon many of New Mexico's most famous inhabitants, visitors, events and locations of the time. Most of the stories I knew or have read about before. New to me were Sister Blandina and the story behind Governor Lew Wallace's writing of Ben Hur. It's a short read, a bit discombobulated but interesting nonetheless.