View source for Mission Gran Quivira

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'''Mission Gran Quivira''' (1629-1672) - A Spanish mission established in 1629 by Padre Francisco de Acevedo near present day Mountainair, Socorro County, New Mexico. Abandoned in 1672. Only the ruins remain. Also known as [[Tabira]] and [[Las Humanas]].
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File:Gran Quivira Pueblo 1.jpg|Mission Gran Quivira Excavated Pueblo.
File:Gran Quivira - 31.jpg|Mission Gran Quivira First Church Interior.
File:Mission Gran Quivira Church.jpg|Mission Gran Quivira Second Church from the Pueblo.
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== The Spanish Period ==
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[[File:Gran Quivira Church Entrance.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Mission Gran Quivira 2nd Church Entrance Looking Through the Nave to the Alter Area.]]
[[File:Gran Quivira Kiva 3.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Mission Gran Quivira 1st Church & Adjacent Kiva.]]
The Mission Gran Quivira was founded in 1629, by Padre Francisco de Acevedo, as one of the twenty-one Spanish missions founded in New Mexico.

The site was visited in 1853 by Major [[James H. Carlton]] U.S.A. of the [[1st U.S. Dragoons]], he was said to be the first American explorer of Gran Quivira. He described the site as follows: 

<blockquote>"We found the ruins of Gran Quivira to consist of the remains of a large church, with a monastery attached to it; a smaller church or chapel; and the ruins of a town extending 900 feet in a direction east and west and 300 feet north and south. All these buildings had been constructed of the dark blue limestone which is found in the vicinity."</blockquote> 
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[[File:Gran Quivira 2nd Church Convento.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Mission Gran Quivira 2nd Church with Convento Ruins in Foreground.]]
Major Carlton continued on with a detailed description of the site. The smaller church or chapel as Carlton describes it was the first church, San Isidro, built in 1629 by Francisco de Acevedo and the only one to hold services. The large church and monastery he describes is the second church, San Buenaventura, started about 1659 when a new priest, Diego de Santander arrived. The Convento on the left side of the church was finished by 1670 but the main church remained unfinished and unconsecrated when work on the mission stopped in 1670. The mission was abandoned in 1672.

The cause of abandonment in 1672 was a combination of misfortunes that included disease, famine, and drought but the major cause was increasingly violent attacks by the Apache plains Indians.
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== Current Status ==
[[File:Gran Quivira - 64.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Mission Gran QuiviraEntrance Sign.]]
The Gran Quivira unit of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is the largest of the three units at 611 acres. There is a small visitor center displaying some artifacts. Self guided tours of the site are the norm with reader boards identifying the specific areas. Guided tours are available with advanced notice.
[[File:Gran Quivira NPS Site Map (1).jpg||800px|thumb|center|Mission Gran Quivira NPS Park Map.]]
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{{#display_map:
34.25977,-106.09235~ Mission Gran Quivira }}
{{Location|About 25 miles frpm Mountainair, Socorro County, New Mexico.|34.25977|-106.09235|6}}
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'''GPS Locations:'''
{{GPSLocation|Visitor Center|34.25961|-106.09325}}
{{GPSLocation|1st Church|34.25969|-106.09162}}
{{GPSLocation|1st Convento|34.25994|-106.09174}}
{{GPSLocation|2nd Church|34.25977|-106.09235}}
{{GPSLocation|2nd Convento|34.25962|-106.09232}}
{{GPSLocation|Cemetery|34.25959|-106.09131}}
{{GPSLocation|Pueblo|34.26011|-106.09129}}
{{GPSLocation|Large Kiva|34.26020|-106.09084}}

'''See Also:'''
* [[:Category:New Mexico Missions|New Mexico Missions]]

'''Sources:''' 
* {{Kessell}}
* {{Prince}}, page 355-362.
* {{GNIS|ID=889533}}
* {{GNIS|ID=932353}}

'''Links:'''
* [https://www.nps.gov/sapu/learn/historyculture/gran-quivira.htm NPS - Gran Quivira]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salinas_Pueblo_Missions_National_Monument Wikipedia - Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument]

{{Visited|14 Apr 2015}}

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