Santa Fe is the oldest state capital in the United States founded in 1610 by Spanish governor Don Pedro de Peralta. But Santa Fe’s story begins even earlier: ancestral Pueblo communities lived in the area centuries before Spanish colonist arrived, and Pueblo peoples remain a vital part of the region’s culture today over four centuries the city has been governed under five flags, Spain, the Pueblo people briefly after the 1680 Pueblo revolt, Mexico, the confederacy, and the United States. That layered past, indigenous, Spanish colonial, Mexican, and American, is still visible in the Adobe architecture, mission, churches, and narrow streets around the historic plaza, making Santa Fe one of the richest destinations in the country for history lovers.
⭐️ Swifty Picks: Historical Sites Worth Visiting
Palace of the Governors
The Palace of the Governors is a historical building that sits on Palace Ave on the North side of the Santa Fe Plaza. The building is considered the oldest continuously used public building in the United States. It served as the seat of Government for the Spanish, Mexican, and American administrations. Entrance to view the inside of this Building is through the New Mexico History Museum
New Mexico History Museum
The main entrance to the New Mexico History Museum sits just behind the Palace of the Governors. To visit the historic Palace, you must enter through the History Museum. Inside, the museum covers more than 500 years of New Mexico’s story, opening with Indigenous life before European contact and moving through Spanish colonization, the Mexican period, and the Santa Fe Trail era. From there, exhibits trace the history of the old West including trappers, outlaws, Buffalo Soldiers, the railroad, miners, code talkers and scientists.
San Miguel Church
San Miguel Church is widely called the oldest church structure in the continental United States. Built around 1610 by the Tlaxcalan people from central Mexico who traveled North with the Spanish. The adobe chapel has been damaged rebuilt and repaired many times over the centuries most notably after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Its thick adobe walls, the original altar, and a wooden statue of Saint Michael dating back to the early 1700 still stand today. San Miguel is one of three historic churches worth your time in downtown Santa Fe.
The Oldest House Museum
Just around the corner from San Miguel Church sits the oldest house museum- and it’s free to visit! (Donations recommended). This is a small adobe building on de Vargas Street that has drawn curious visitors since the 1800s. It’s listed as circa 1646. Local legend holds that part of the structure rests on Pueblo foundation dating back to the 1200s, long before Spanish settlers arrived, while other sections are believed to date to the early Spanish colonial period. Tree ring testing on the roof beams has produced conflicting dates over the years and historians have questioned the “oldest house” claim since at least the early 1900s. Today the building holds a small museum and gift shop and even if the true age remains a mystery it’s still a tangible piece of the layered history that makes up the small corner of Santa Fe. As an added bonus, it’s free to visit!
A Quiet Piece of Atomic History
If you’re interested in Manhattan Project history, take a short detour to 109 East Palace Avenue, just off the Plaza. This unassuming address was the real-life gateway to Los Alamos during World War II. Every scientist and family member headed to the secret laboratory reported here first, often with no idea where they’d be taken next. The building still stands today, marked with a small plaque, and it’s one of Santa Fe’s quieter but more remarkable footnotes in world history.
New Mexico Insider Tip:
If you are planning to visit more than one museum during your visit to New Mexico here’s a local secret worth knowing. The New Mexico Culture Pass gets you into each of the state’s 14 museums and historic sites over a 12 month period. Buy it at your first stop and it’s automatically validated from that date forward so the more sites you visit during your trip the better the value gets! Keep in mind it only covers state run sites- probably not every historical site you want to visit.
It covers a wide range of sites, including the New Mexico History Museum and Palace of the Governors, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, and the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, along with sites like the Coronado Historic Site, Jémez Historic Site, and the Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner.