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Authors: Jim Hinckley
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1937, and the barn served as a field hospital.
In 1924, Thomas Greer transformed the site into a tourist attraction. On one side of the road, signs proclaimed, âDrink Again from the Fountain of YouthâOld Indian-Spanish-American Well Over 388 Years Old.â On the north side of the highway, the old adobe barn was plastered with signs proclaiming its association with the historic Civil War battle.
Shortly after the realignment of the highway in 1937, the attraction closed. The barn, now preserved by the National Park Service, and the well are all that remain.
THE TIMELESS LAND
T HE LAND WEST OF ALBUQUERQUE seems ancient and the intrusions of man out of context. The exceptions, however, are the towns and roadside remnants that line Route 66 between Albuquerque, an old Spanish presidio transformed into a modern metropolis, and the breathtaking buttes and mesas that straddle the border of Arizona and New Mexico.
These ruins, remnants, and dusty relics seem as much a part of the landscape as the stones themselves. In part, their weathering from centuries of blowing snow and dry desert winds enhances the illusion.
Correo, on the pre-1937 alignment of the highway, had always been a service center. From its 1914 inception as a railroad station, it had met the needs of travelers with a general store and the needs of locals with the only post office for miles. With the realignment of Route 66 and closure of the station, this wide spot in the road quickly became a dusty, empty place.
Paraje was established by a small group of Laguna Indian farmers, but it soon became a favored stop for the new breed of adventurers who called themselves motorists. The town had a population large enough to warrant a post office from 1867 to 1910, but by 1946, Jack Rittenhouse notes that only a small trading post remained.
West of the centuries-old Laguna Pueblo is Budville Trading Company, originally a trading post and Phillips 66 station opened by N. H. âBudâ Rice in 1928.
Cubero, bypassed in 1937, is located just a few miles north of Highway 124, the replacement alignment of Route 66. Its association with Route 66 is a long one, spawning one of the old roadâs iconic landmarks and forever linking its story to that of the historic highway.
During the teens and early twenties, automobile tourists flocked to the desert southwest to take in the wondrous lands and strange cultures. Old trading posts and new ones capitalized on this new opportunity for profit.
In Cubero, Wallace and Mary Gunn operated one of these trading posts and kept up a thriving business by providing local Indians with goods like flour and coal oil in exchange for pottery, sheep, cattle, and an array of work created by Indian artisans. In turn, these goods were sold to tourists.
Shortly after the realignment of Route 66, the Gunns relocated their business to a new facility on the highway. By the summer of 1937, in partnership with Sidney Gottieb, the new trading post had morphed into Villa de Cubero Trading Post, a complex that included the trading post, a service station, and ten tourist courts.
The facility received a favorable rating by AAA and inclusion in the 1940
Directory of Motor Courts and Cottages
: âVilla de Cubero, on U.S. 66, 10 cottages with baths, $2 to $3. Public showers. Café. Trailers 50c.â
Hollywood discovered the charming village of Cubero and its trading post during this period, and soon the Villa de Cubero was a popular place for celebrities seeking a hidden hideaway or a pleasant stay while filming in the area. The surprising guest list included Gene Tierney, Bruce Cabot, the Von Trapp family, and Sylvia Sidney. Vivian Vance owned a ranch nearby, and Desi and Lucy Arnaz were regulars during the early 1950s. Another brush with fame came with Ernest Hemmingway, who resided here for two weeks, purportedly while working on
The Old Man and the Sea
.
Settlement at San Fidel nearby began with the establishment of a
In 1924, Thomas Greer transformed the site into a tourist attraction. On one side of the road, signs proclaimed, âDrink Again from the Fountain of YouthâOld Indian-Spanish-American Well Over 388 Years Old.â On the north side of the highway, the old adobe barn was plastered with signs proclaiming its association with the historic Civil War battle.
Shortly after the realignment of the highway in 1937, the attraction closed. The barn, now preserved by the National Park Service, and the well are all that remain.
THE TIMELESS LAND
T HE LAND WEST OF ALBUQUERQUE seems ancient and the intrusions of man out of context. The exceptions, however, are the towns and roadside remnants that line Route 66 between Albuquerque, an old Spanish presidio transformed into a modern metropolis, and the breathtaking buttes and mesas that straddle the border of Arizona and New Mexico.
These ruins, remnants, and dusty relics seem as much a part of the landscape as the stones themselves. In part, their weathering from centuries of blowing snow and dry desert winds enhances the illusion.
Correo, on the pre-1937 alignment of the highway, had always been a service center. From its 1914 inception as a railroad station, it had met the needs of travelers with a general store and the needs of locals with the only post office for miles. With the realignment of Route 66 and closure of the station, this wide spot in the road quickly became a dusty, empty place.
Paraje was established by a small group of Laguna Indian farmers, but it soon became a favored stop for the new breed of adventurers who called themselves motorists. The town had a population large enough to warrant a post office from 1867 to 1910, but by 1946, Jack Rittenhouse notes that only a small trading post remained.
West of the centuries-old Laguna Pueblo is Budville Trading Company, originally a trading post and Phillips 66 station opened by N. H. âBudâ Rice in 1928.
Cubero, bypassed in 1937, is located just a few miles north of Highway 124, the replacement alignment of Route 66. Its association with Route 66 is a long one, spawning one of the old roadâs iconic landmarks and forever linking its story to that of the historic highway.
During the teens and early twenties, automobile tourists flocked to the desert southwest to take in the wondrous lands and strange cultures. Old trading posts and new ones capitalized on this new opportunity for profit.
In Cubero, Wallace and Mary Gunn operated one of these trading posts and kept up a thriving business by providing local Indians with goods like flour and coal oil in exchange for pottery, sheep, cattle, and an array of work created by Indian artisans. In turn, these goods were sold to tourists.
Shortly after the realignment of Route 66, the Gunns relocated their business to a new facility on the highway. By the summer of 1937, in partnership with Sidney Gottieb, the new trading post had morphed into Villa de Cubero Trading Post, a complex that included the trading post, a service station, and ten tourist courts.
The facility received a favorable rating by AAA and inclusion in the 1940
Directory of Motor Courts and Cottages
: âVilla de Cubero, on U.S. 66, 10 cottages with baths, $2 to $3. Public showers. Café. Trailers 50c.â
Hollywood discovered the charming village of Cubero and its trading post during this period, and soon the Villa de Cubero was a popular place for celebrities seeking a hidden hideaway or a pleasant stay while filming in the area. The surprising guest list included Gene Tierney, Bruce Cabot, the Von Trapp family, and Sylvia Sidney. Vivian Vance owned a ranch nearby, and Desi and Lucy Arnaz were regulars during the early 1950s. Another brush with fame came with Ernest Hemmingway, who resided here for two weeks, purportedly while working on
The Old Man and the Sea
.
Settlement at San Fidel nearby began with the establishment of a
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