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It is believed that the occupation of Acoma began
around 1150 AD. making it the oldest,
continuously inhabited city within the United States,
Acoma Sky Pueblo rests upon the top of a massive
sandstone mesa. The people moved after a disastrous
flood denied them access to their home, another mesa
pueblo, by destroying their means of ascent. They
named the pueblo Acoma, "People of the White Rock."
Today
there are less than 50 permanent residents, with the
other Acomans living in the surrounding communities. |
For
information about our tour
visit
Southwest Adventures
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In the year 1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado’s army
visited the area and he became the first Caucasian to
step foot inside the Sky City.
He described Acoma as one of the strongest cities he had
seen, with large homes and an abundance of supplies. The
mesa that the Sky City resides upon is an astounding 357
feet of sandstone, an unmatchable defense against
incursions. The pueblo even resisted the attempts of
the Spanish during the 1500s. |
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San Esteban del Rey Mission was built in 1629, completed
in 1640, as recompense to the residents for the Spanish
attempts to destroy the city. The
construction of the mission was no easy task as the
materials used were not native to the top of the mesa.
All of the resources, huge beams from nearby Mt.
Taylor, soil for the courtyard, and an estimated 10 tons
of earth and stone, had to be manually hauled or
physically carried up the mesa. The contents of the
mission date from its construction up into the 1800s.
Both the pueblo and the mission are now recognized
National Historic Landmarks. Come join us as we visit
one of the ‘must see’ locations of New Mexico.
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