Agua Fria is a small village in the city of Santa Fe. The hamlet lies on the historic Camino Real. The community served as a rest stop for travelers on the last stretch of trail from Mexico City to Santa Fe. The land plots consisted of long, narrow strips. This format assured that each landowner had access to water for irrigating crops. The first historic reference to Agua Fría was in 1776. Fray Francisco Atanasio Dominguez referred to the area as Quemado or burnt. This reference reflected the destruction by fire of Pindi Pueblo. The first prehistoric pueblo site recorded in New Mexico was Pindi, dating back to the 1300s. Dominguez described farmlands fertilized by the river and a settlement of 57 families and 297 persons.
Village Map
In 1914 the acequia maps of Santa Fe documented the exact acreage of cultivated land. The growing season of northern New Mexico allowed farmers to grow chile, corn, beans, wheat and alfalfa. Until as recently as the late 1940s, Agua Fria has been a self-sufficient community. The way of life in Agua Fria Village is based on a strong attachment to the land and an understanding of the cultural continuity that goes back many generations. The village church is named for San Isidro ,the patron saint of farmers. Built around 1835 San Isidro is located at the center of the village. Santa Fe’s Agua Fria Street ends at the Santuario de Guadalupe and the intersection of Guadalupe Street.