Santa Fe New Mexican
Newspaper article on OSTA Annual Conference
Old Spanish Trail Museum Exhibit Now Showing at the
Palace of the Governors
in Santa Fe, New Mexico through October 26, 2008
Coming to the Anasazi Heritage Center
November 2008
The Old Spanish Trail exhibit that is currently on display at the Palace of Governors in Santa Fe, NM will be relocated to the Anasazi Heritage Center in November 2008. The exhibit will be featured at the AHC through November 2009.
The Spanish Trail Suite composed by Marshall McDonald and Steven Sharp Nelson and performed by the Orchestra of Southern Utah has teamed with Video Ideas Production of Chattanooga, Tennessee to create a new orchestra experience combining stunning time-lapse video of storms unfolding, moon rises, sunsets and re-creations of trail scenes.
The Spanish Trail Suite was commissioned by the Orchestra of Southern Utah with help from the National Endowment of the Arts and local foundations. The composers created a piece celebrating the three cultures which settled the West along the route of trails stretching from Santa Fe to Los Angeles. The interactive project produced by Video Ideas focuses on more than 100 miles of the Trail in Iron and Washington Counties.
Brent Tom, local Paiute caller, serves as the guest soloist for the Sunrise movement. His inspired performance adds depth to the first movement which honors the local Paiute Tribe.
Introducing our New Colorado Director - Patricia Fluck
Pat has lived in
the San Luis Valley, Colorado area for over 33 years
and served as a community leader in many volunteer roles.
Pat is also an active member of the Rio Grande County Museum, the birthplace of the modern Old Spanish Trail Association.
Spanish Traces CD Now Available!
Due to popular demand, the complete set of Spanish Traces back issues (1995-2007) is now available through the Old Spanish Trail Association.
To obtain your copy, send a $30 check to:
Mark Franklin, OSTA Treasurer
Spanish Traces CD
1911 Main Ave. Suite 236 B
Durango, CO 81301
Announcing the OSTA Kids Corner
The Old Spanish Trail Association, Main Street Murals, and the Desert Dispatch sponsored a bookmark competition for the kids of the Barstow School District. Thirty-four children participated in a competition to create a bookmark that focused on the history of the Old Spanish Trail, which runs right through Barstow.
Visit the Kids Corner link to view the submitted artwork.
Donald Davidson - New OSTA Association Manager
We are pleased to announce that Mr.
Donald Davidson took the reins as OSTA's new Association Manager on January 1, 2008. He will
work with OSTA's all-volunteer officers, directors, chapter
members and other members to achieve the organization's mission of
study, protection, interpretation, and promotion of appropriate trail use.
Among other duties, improving OSTA's financial viability to carry out
several of its projects will occupy much of his first months. Mr.
Davidson, currently lives in Washington, D.C. but plans to
move to a community on or near the OSNHT. He has spent many summers
in the southwest, teaching, lecturing, and exploring public lands.
Spanish Trails Symposium held in Cedar City, Utah
Southern Utah University recently hosted a western history symposium featuring the “Spanish Trails of the American West.” The Symposium was organized and sponsored by the Southern Utah Chapter of the Old Spanish Trail Association (OSTA).
Publication of the conference proceedings are expected in the near future.
For more details, see the Symposium Announcement.
Old Spanish Trail Mural Project - Main Street Murals of Barstow
The Old Spanish Trail was chosen as the subject of a new mural in Barstow's downtown business district. Main Street Murals developed this project as a four month, multi-curricular educational program involving 4th and 5th grade GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program students from six schools in the Barstow area.
Master Mural Designer and Artist - David Brockhurst
Educational Project Leader - Jane Laraman-Brockhurst
GATE Program Teacher - Candice Michelson
Artist and Teacher - Kathy Fierro
The program involved a diverse schedule of workshops, presentations, field trips, making a life size mule, creative writing, and design sessions involving a broad group of local and community led organizations: Old Spanish Trail Association, Mojave River Valley Museum, Desert Discovery Centre, BLM, Barstow Public Library, MEEC, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Barstow.
The new mural was dedicated during the June 2007 Old Spanish Trail Annual Conference.
View a slideshow of the dedication ceremony.
View a full size image of the mural.
Special Reprint Book Offer! In Search of the Old Spanish Trail
Reserve your copy of a special reprint of this Gregory Crampton and Steve Madsen classic In Search of the Old Spanish Trail. Proceeds benefit the Old Spanish Trail Association.
Aaron Mahr named Superintendent for the Intermountain
Region’s National Trails System Program
In his new role, Aaron Mahr will manage the National Trails System program
of the Intermountain Region, with offices in Salt Lake City and Santa Fe. The program has oversight for
nine National Historic Trails (Santa Fe, Trail of Tears, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, El Camino
Real de los Tejas, Old Spanish, Oregon, California, Pony Express, Mormon Pioneer), the Route 66
Corridor Preservation Program, and the Old Santa Fe Trail Building.
This report summarizes comments, feedback, and input received from the public in the spring
of 2006 during scoping for a proposed Comprehensive Management Plan/Environmental
Impact Statement (CMP/EIS) for the Old Spanish National Historic Trail (OSNHT). The
scoping reported here was conducted by a team of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and
National Park Service (NPS) planners, historians, archaeologists, and Native American
consultation specialists.
The Spanish Trail Suite composed by Steven Sharp Nelson and Marshall McDonald embodies the spirit of the West. Through four deeply emotional movements the piece vividly characterizes the hardship and determination of the Trail's travelers while celebrating the lives and cultures that forged the future of the West. The music of Native Americans, Spanish Explores and Pioneers all find a voice in this 30 minute epic.
The Spanish Trail Suite was commissioned by the Orchestra of Southern Utah and the National Endowment of the Arts.
On January 18, 2006, the federal government issued a Notice of Intent to develop a Comprehensive Management Plan for the Old Spanish Trail. The public process will include a series of scoping meetings in communities along the Old Spanish Trail.
December 4, 2002 - President Bush Signs Old Spanish Trail Into Law
The Old Spanish Trail is now officially designated a National Historic Trail! President George W. Bush signed S.R. 1946 on December 4, 2002, and it became Public Law 107-325 granting NHT status to the Old Spanish Trail under the National Trails System Act. This 'happening' has taken over ten years to accomplish.
The next step in the process is for the Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, to designate the agency (or agencies) to begin Trail administration. A comprehensive management plan (CMP) / environmental impact study will be necessary before other significant activities by the administering agency can occur. The preparation of the studies will require funding, which the designation bill does not include.
And now the cooperative work begins, by the administrating agency assigned to the Trail and by the many “friends” of the Trail, including the Old Spanish Trail Association. It will likely be a couple of years before anything is significantly noted by the general public as far as signage along the roadways identifying the route of the OST, and kiosks with OST maps and interpretation of the Trail history. In the meantime, efforts will continue by OSTA to provide brochures at visitor centers and museums to promote education about this relatively unknown but remarkably interesting trail. Explorer John C. Fremont cited this trail to be the “longest, crookedest, most arduous pack mule route in the history of America.”
November 15, 2002 - Congress Passes S.R. 1946 Old Spanish Trail Law
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell Congratulates the Old Spanish Trail Association
The Old Spanish Trail system is about to be recognized for what you and so many other trail enthusiasts have known all along - that it is a nationally historic trail worthy of federal designation. As a Westerner who likes a colorful tale as much as any, I have researched the history of this network of trails over the past several years. Widely known as the longest, most crooked, most arduous pack mule route system in the history of America, it is an important part of our national heritage.
I commend the work you have done through the Old Spanish Trail Association to preserve the trail for future generations and to raise public awareness of our diverse cultural heritage in the region by studying the trail.
Efforts made on the state level have also been significant. The Colorado division of the Bureau of Land Management worked on documenting and interpreting the route with local communities, such as Mesa County and the City of Grand Junction. In 1993, Colorado's State Parks Board of the Department of Natural Resources passed a resolution encouraging federal designation of the northern branch of the Old Spanish Trail, which is located near Grand Junction.
I was able to further the progress made at the local and state level in 1995 when I commissioned a study by the Department of the Interior to determine whether the Old Spanish Trail should be designated as a National Historic Trail. Based on the findings of that study, I introduced the Old Spanish Trail Recognition Act of 2002. This legislation is expected to be enacted into law by President George W. Bush before the close of the year.
The federal designation will help pay tribute to the cultures that are thousands of years old and have enriched America. It will also celebrate the many folks who populated the Old West and laid the foundation for how we live today.
This federal designation would not have been possible absent your support. There is no substitute for people who care deeply about the trail and can help others appreciate it. This law is an endeavor ten years in the making, and one well worth our time. Congratulations one and all for a job well done
