History of Lamy, New Mexico

From Santa Fe, Lamy is reached by taking northbound I-25 to US 285. The exit to Lamy, just east of US 285, is seven miles from the freeway. A bus ride to Lamy has been Santa Fe's only railroad link with the rest of the world since 1926. In 1878 the main line of the Santa Fe Railroad bypassed Santa Fe, leaving the Ancient City connected by a spur line to Lamy. On October 1, 1926, service over the spur line was discontinued. Passengers, mail, and baggage had to be transported by busses, "Harveycars." The town grew with the railroad and was named to honor Jean Baptise Lamy, the first archbishop of the American Territorial period.

Bishop Lamy came to Santa Fe diocese in 1853 and labored prodigiously among Anglos, Mexicans, and Indians to reform a religious establishment which had been allowed to grow stagnant and corrupt. He removed several priests from their posts and unfrocked them; some were members of New Mexico's leading families. Vengeful politicians attempted to oust him, but he continued on. Willa Cather immortalized Bishop Lamy in her novel Death Comes for the Archbishop.

Roadside History of New Mexico, p.278-9

Francis L. and Roberta B. Fugate

Mountain Press Publishing Co., Missoula, 1989


General Information

Lamy Township Plans
The Legal Tender as a General Store

Printed Articles

Lamy Railroad Junction Dudley M. Lynch, New Mexico, October, 1966

Off the Beaten Path

Howard Bryan, The Albuquerque Tribune, February 14, 1969
It Happened...in Santa Fe Lorraine Carr, The Albuquerque Journal, January 1, 1969
A Century in New Mexico Marian F. Love, The Santa Fean Magazine, Vol. 8. No. 10, November, 1980
All aboard - at Lamy Station Paul Weideman, Santa Fe Real Estate Guide, December, 2005

Internet Links

El Ortiz Hotel

New Mexico Harvey Houses Fred Harvey Collection Exhibit
  Fred Harvey Company

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