Cerrillos

New Mexico · United States · Execution site

A mining town twenty seven miles south of Santa Fe that came into being in the 1870s and has barely changed its appearance since.

Cerrillos, meaning little hills, sits twenty seven miles south of Santa Fe among cottonwoods, and it is one of the oldest traditional villages in Santa Fe County.

It became a town properly in the 1870s, as a wild mining settlement chasing turquoise, lead and silver. At its height it had saloons, hotels and several thousand people.

What is remarkable is how little of the appearance has changed. The dirt streets and adobe fronts are close enough to the original that Cerrillos has stood in for the old west in a long line of films.

The accounts collected here belong to the general store and to the buildings around it, and they come from residents rather than from visitors.

The turquoise mines in the hills above the village are among the oldest worked in North America, dug long before the Spanish arrived.

FAQ

Where is Cerrillos located?

Cerrillos is in New Mexico, United States.