History of Santa Fe Timeline

In 1851, Jean Baptiste Lamy arrived, becoming bishop of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado in 1853. He built the Santa Fe Saint Francis Cathedral and shaped Catholicism in the region until his death in 1888.

Image source: Jean-Baptiste Lamy

On October 21, 1887, Anton Docher, "The Padre of Isleta", went to New Mexico where he was ordained as a priest in the St Francis Cathedral of Santa Fe by Bishop Jean-Baptiste Salpointe. After serving in Santa Fe, Bernalillo and Taos, he moved to Isleta on December 28, 1891.

Image source: Anton Docher

Activists created a number of resources for the arts and archaeology, notably the School of American Research, created in 1907 under the leadership of the prominent archaeologist Edgar Lee Hewett.

Image source: School for Advanced Research

Adelina Otero-Warren, a leading suffragist in New Mexico, became one of the state's first female government officials when she served as superintendent of Santa Fe public schools from 1917 to 1929. In 1922, she also became the first Hispanic woman to run for the U.S. Congress.

Image source: Adelina Otero-Warren

Edgar Lee Hewett began the Santa Fe Fiesta in 1919, reviving a celebration of the city's multicultural heritage that continues today.

Image source: Fiestas de Santa Fe

Hewett began the Southwest Indian Fair in 1922, now known as the Indian Market, celebrating Native American art and culture.

Image source: Santa Fe Indian Market

By 1930 there was a broadening to include the "Territorial" style, a style of the pre-statehood period which included the addition of portales (large, covered porches) and white-painted window and door pediments, with flat roofs still dominating.

Founded in 1937, Performance Santa Fe brings celebrated and legendary musicians as well as some of the world's greatest dancers and actors to the city year-round.

Image source: Santa Fe, New Mexico

By an ordinance passed in 1957, new and rebuilt buildings, especially those in designated historic districts, must exhibit a Spanish Territorial or Pueblo style of architecture, with flat roofs and other features suggestive of the area's traditional adobe construction.

The Courthouse building, constructed in 1889, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Launched in 1995, SITE Santa Fe organizes an international biennial of contemporary art in the United States, similar to exhibitions such as the Whitney Biennial and the Venice Biennale but at a smaller scale.

Image source: SITE Santa Fe

Since 2005, Santa Fe has been designated as a UNESCO Creative City in Crafts and Folk Art, reflecting its renown as a center for arts and multiculturalism.

Image source: Creative Cities Network

With support from George R. R. Martin, Meow Wolf opened an elaborate art installation space, called House of Eternal Return, in 2016.

Image source: Meow Wolf

In 2022, Adelina Otero-Warren was one of five women chosen for the American Women Quarters Program, which honors women who have made notable contributions to the country.

Image source: American Women quarters

A branch line was completed from Lamy to Santa Fe in 1880, connecting the city to the national rail network.

Image source: Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad extended the narrow gauge Chili Line from the nearby city of Española to Santa Fe in 1886.

In its earliest alignment (1926–1937), US 66 ran through Santa Fe, bringing travelers and commerce through the city before the route was realigned.

Image source: U.S. Route 66 in New Mexico

Beginning in June 1942, the Department of Justice arrested 826 Japanese-American men after the attack on Pearl Harbor; they held them near Santa Fe, in a former Civilian Conservation Corps site that had been acquired and expanded for the purpose. In February 1943, these civilian detainees were transferred to Department of Justice custody.

Image source: Santa Fe riot

In 1945, four internees were seriously injured when violence broke out between the internees and guards in an event known as the Santa Fe Riot. The camp remained open past the end of the war; the last detainees were released in mid-1946.

Horse racing events were held at The Downs at Santa Fe from 1971 until 1997.

In May 2012, Santa Fe became the home of the Santa Fe Fuego of the Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs.

While previously the mayor could only vote when there was a tie among the city council, the city charter was amended by referendum in 2014 to allow the mayor to vote on all matters in front of the council.

Since 2018, the role of mayor has been a full-time professional paid position within city government.

As of the 2020 census, Santa Fe had a population of 87,505, growing by nearly 20,000 residents, or 28.8%, compared to 2010 — proportionally, the fastest recorded decennial growth rate since 1950. The median age in 2020 was 45.4 years.

In November 2025, Santa Fe became the first city in the United States to pass an ordinance that directly links wages to housing affordability, addressing high rents and housing prices. Beginning in 2027, the city's minimum wage will increase to $17.50 and rise annually based on CPI and fair market rent data.

The current mayor of Santa Fe is Michael Garcia, who succeeded Alan Webber in January 2026.

On July 30, 2026, the Santa Fe City Council and Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners held their first Joint Governing Body Meeting under a new joint resolution calling for regular collaboration through 2029 focused on improvements for residents throughout the region.

Santa Fe has been associated with science and technology since 1943, when it served as the gateway to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a 45-minute drive from the city.

Image source: Los Alamos National Laboratory

In 1984, the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) was founded to research complex systems in the physical, biological, economic, and political sciences; it has hosted Nobel laureates such as Murray Gell-Mann, Philip Warren Anderson, and Kenneth Arrow.

Image source: Santa Fe Institute

The National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) was founded in 1994 to focus on research at the intersection of bioscience, computing, and mathematics.

In 2020, Santa Fe announced efforts to become the "Silicon Valley of the Southwest" through partnerships with various educational, scientific, and business organizations aimed at creating a "technology ecosystem". The city is also part of the New Mexico Innovation Triangle (NMIT), launched in 2020 with Los Alamos and Albuquerque.