What:  Presentation:  Building a Carreta - Historical Representation of Early Spanish Transportation
(sponsored by the Friends of Coronado State Monument)

Who:  Lecturer/Presenter: Gary Williams, who built the caretta ("Little Cart," generally pulled by oxen) located on the portal at Coronado State Monument over a 5-month period beginning in late 2006.  Gary researched the history and design, and fashioned large chunks of lumber to build the carreta using only tools that would have been used in bygone eras, such as handmade axes and adzes.  No nails, screws or metal hardware were used for this project. Gary's presentation will include the historical significance of carretas, how they were built, how they were used, and the trials and rewards he experienced during this building project. 

When:  Sunday, January 20, 2008, 2:00 p.m.
 

Where:  Sandoval County History Society's DeLavy House located on Edmond Road, Bernalillo, NM.  Directions:  Highway 550, slightly west of Coronado State Monument, turn north on the west edge of the Phillips 66 station onto a dirt road (Edmond Road). Follow the road to its end. Signs will be posted.

Cost:  Admission is $5 per person; free to members of the Friends of Coronado State Monument.

Public Contact and Number:
Gordon Forbes
Program Chairman, Friends of Coronado State Monument
505- 771-3464
gforbes@millikin.edu
 

The New Mexico State Monument System plays an important role in preserving and interpreting New Mexico's vast cultural and historical treasures.  It presents a capsulated chronology of the State's history, beginning with the prehistoric pueblos sites of Jémez and Kuaua, Coronado State Monument, that date back to the 13th Century and their fateful encounter with the Spanish explorers.  The long years of Spanish Colonial exploration and settlement are characterized in an exhibition housed in the Camino Real International Heritage Center.  The settlement of the West during the tumultuous Post-Civil War period is represented at the military sites of Fort Selden and Fort Sumner.  The military strategy for dealing with perceived Native American obstacles to that settlement are interpreted at Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner.  And finally the battle for government contracts that erupted into the Lincoln County War with characters such as Sheriff Pat Garrett and the outlaw Billy the Kid are interpreted at the Lincoln Monument.

New Mexico State Monuments is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs.  For more information, visit www.nmmonuments.org.