Mary Donoho (1808–1880)
Mary Donoho was the first Anglo woman to travel along the Santa Fe Trail from Old Franklin, Missouri settling in Santa Fe in 1833. The energetic woman and her husband William operated a hotel where La Fonda is currently located. Two of their children, a girl born in 1835, and a son born in 1837, were documented as being the first Anglo Americans born in Santa Fe. In 1937 the young family fled during a time of political upheaval that resulted in the decapitation of Gov. Albino Perez. They moved to Clarksville, Texas where they ran the Donoho Hotel. When Donoho’s husband died in 1845 she raised their six children by herself and kept the hotel going for more than forty years, she died in 1880.
The Road of Progress
In 1821 Capt. William Becknell forged the east-west trail known as the Santa Fe Trail. The 900 mile trade route began in Franklin, Missouri and ended on the Santa Fe plaza. The trail opened up trade with the United States. This era through 1848 was known as the Mexican Period when New Mexico was were under the rule of Mexico. The east-west Santa Fe Trail provided access to the U.S. Army which enabled them to establish the American Occupation. Fort Marcy was built in 1846 to help support and protect traders along the Santa Fe Trail during the Mexican-American and the California Gold Rush of 1849.
An Economic Transformation
The Santa Fe Trail transformed New Mexico. The state changed from a pastoral, subsistence-oriented way of life to an economic hub in the west. In 1835, 75 wagons hauled an estimated $140,000 in goods on the Santa Fe Trail. By 1843 the value of goods had risen to $250,000, and by 1855 the annual haul was approximately half million dollars. The Santa Fe Trail invigorated the the social, economic, political and cultural life for all New Mexicans.