El Rancho de las Golondrinas Winter Lecture Series: Jon Wallace,The Sheep Industry of Territorial New Mexico:Livestock, Land and Dollars
El Rancho de las Golondrinas Winter Lecture Series: February Lecture
Jon Wallace: The Sheep Industry of Territorial New Mexico:Livestock, Land and Dollars
The Sheep Industry of Territorial New Mexico offers a detailed account of the New Mexico sheep industry during the territorial period (1846–1912), when it flourished. As a mainstay of the New Mexico economy, this industry was essential to the integration of New Mexico (and the Southwest more broadly) into the national economy of the expanding United States. Author Jon Wallace tells the story of evolving living conditions as the sheep industry came to encompass innumerable families of modest means.
The transformation improved many New Mexicans’ lives and helped establish the territory as a productive part of the United States. There was a cost, however, with widespread ecological changes to the lands—brought about in large part by heavy grazing. Following the US annexation of New Mexico, new markets for mutton and wool opened. Well-connected, well-financed Anglo merchants and growers who had recently arrived in the territory took advantage of the new opportunity and joined their Hispanic counterparts in entering the sheep industry.
The Sheep Industry of Territorial New Mexico situates this socially imbued economic story within the larger context of the environmental consequences of open-range grazing while examining the relationships among Hispanic, Anglo, and Indigenous people in the region. Historians, students, general readers, and specialists interested in the history of agriculture, labor, capitalism, and the US Southwest will find Wallace’s analysis useful and engaging.
Date: February 24, 2026
Time: 5:30pm; Doors Open at 5pm
Location: ST. FRANCIS AUDITORIUM AT THE NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF ART
Cost: General Admission $11.83; Museums of New Mexico Foundation Members FREE for Museums of New Mexico Foundation Members
To Reserve tickets, please visit: https://tickets.holdmyticket.com/tickets/457037?tc=hmt
Event Information
Location: ST. FRANCIS AUDITORIUM AT THE NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF ART
https://golondrinas.org/
Cost: General Admission $11.83; Museums of New Mexico Foundation Members FREE for Museums of New Mexico Foundation Members
Recommended Lodging
Houses Of The Moon At Ten Thousand Waves
In the tradition of the Japanese ryokan, guests have a short walk from their rooms to the rustic spa, inspired by Japanese-style mountain hot spring resorts. The distinctive details in each of the 14 unique guest rooms and suites reflect Japanese simplicity, and many include courtyards, decks, a private Japanese garden and a kiva fireplace. Surrounded by 20 acres of piñons and junipers in high mountain wilderness, yet just ten minutes away from downtown Santa Fe, this is your choice for an easily accessible romantic vacation in an exotic destination.
Ojo Santa Fe Spa Resort
Reconnect with nature at globally acclaimed Ojo Santa Fe Spa Resort. For hundreds of years, travelers and seekers have journeyed to these spring-fed waters for healing and respite.
Today, Ojo Santa Fe is a refuge from the modern world, nestled amidst a lush 77 acres in Northern New Mexico’s high desert.
Discover the benefits of hydrotherapy in spring-fed, thermal soaking pools, soak in seclusion in a private Ojito pool, dine on farm-fresh cuisine, and find relaxation in the beautiful waterside spa.
Day soaking is available daily from 10am - 10pm, no reservations required.
Lodging guests receive access to all communal pools from 7:30am - 10pm, morning yoga classes, miles of hiking trails, and complimentary, locally roasted morning coffee.
Call ahead to book spa services or reserve your overnight stay online.