New Mexico Territory, U.S. administrative territory at Santa Fe, United States
The New Mexico Territory stretched between Texas and California, covering parts of what are now Arizona and New Mexico states. Santa Fe served as the administrative seat and lay at the western end of a long trade route from Missouri.
The area passed to the United States in 1850 after a peace treaty with Mexico and remained under federal administration for six decades. It gained statehood only in the early 20th century.
The name derives from Spanish colonial holdings and recalls early expeditions across the Southwest. Visitors today recognize this influence in the flat adobe roofs and inner courtyards of many older buildings.
Visitors can explore historic buildings and museum pieces in Santa Fe that offer insight into the administrative era. Many sites along old trade routes still show traces of this period today.
Five major river systems crossed the territory and shaped where people settled. Early inhabitants followed these waterways, and many towns still sit along their banks today.
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