Heritage Preservation Month

May 2013 

This year marks the 26th year HPD has issued a Heritage Preservaiton Month poster.  HPD is very proud to be able to feature Esther Martinez, named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2006.  Her roadside marker was one of the of the first completed under the New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative, which established 65 women's history markers throughout the state.  Esther's photograph was taken by her daughter Josephine Binford.  Write nm.shpo@state.nm.us to receive a free copy while supplies last.

Heritage Preservation Month continues into early June this year, so be sure to check out the Calendar of Events. There are approximately another20 heritage events scheduled around the state. The Calendar is available by clicking here.

Featured are events statewide including hikes to usually restricted archaeological sites, historic district tours, cultural celebrations, pottery workshops and informational sessions. Map out your route for May road trips and be sure to stop and read the Official Scenic Historic Markers along the way.

The Cultural Properties Review Committee presented 25 Heritage Preservaiton Awards on May 10.  Find out on this website who received an award this year.

Roadside historic markers began appearing along New Mexico highways in 1935. Since then, 680 of the familiar big, brown rough hewn signs have been installed in all parts of the state.  The history told on them is as diverse as New Mexico's culture.  Its wild geologic formations, historical sites, trails and the people who traveled them--New Mexico's bad boys, heroic women, the conquerors who changed the landscape and the Native American cultures that form the  bedrock of it all -- these stories all are found on the Official Scenic Historic Markers.