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Acequia Madre (Santa Fe)

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Historical irrigation ditch in New Mexico For the Acequia Madre in Las Vegas, New Mexico, see Acequia Madre (Las Vegas, New Mexico).

Acequia Madre
Mother Ditch
Acequia Madre (Mother Ditch), Santa Fe, NM c.1890-1910
LocationSanta Fe, New Mexico, USA
Coordinates35°40′46″N 105°55′25″W / 35.679387°N 105.92349°W / 35.679387; -105.92349
Elevation7,000 feet (variable along its length of several miles)
Builtc.1610
Built forirrigation
Rebuiltc.1680
Acequia Madre (Santa Fe) is located in New MexicoAcequia Madre (Santa Fe)Location of Acequia Madre in New Mexico
A section of the Acequia Madre in 2022 showing gate to control water flow
Urrutia Map of Santa Fe, 1766, showing the Acequia Madre in the lower third of the map

The Acequia Madre (Mother Ditch) is a historical irrigation ditch that flows through the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It has been operating for more than 500 years, and is part of the acequia system found throughout New Mexico.

History

Historically, ditch irrigation was used for centuries by the indigenous peoples of the Southwest, however the Spanish colonialists have been credited with bringing knowledge of engineering and irrigation/water regulation law to New Mexico. The Acequia Madre was documented in the José de Urrutia map (c. 1766) which shows the acequia running along the muralla, or early fortification wall of Santa Fe, and marks its position in relation to the Santa Fe River.

The structure dates from before 1610, however the main construction occurred in 1680 around the time of the Pueblo Revolt. At that time Santa Fe was called La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís. The indigenous Puebloan peoples in the area used flood control practices and irrigation as far back as 800 AD as observed by the Spanish explorers who came through the area in the 1540s.

The acequia continues to this day to be governed by the early Spanish laws. The ditch has a board of three commissioners charged with insuring it is kept in good-working order and a mayordomo de la acequia. The acequia is still used by some residents to irrigate grazing land and fruit trees; property owners with water rights leases along the ditch pay an annual fee, and are responsible for keeping the acequia cleared of debris each spring; the ditch cleanup is known as the limpieza y saca de acequia. The ditch-association members are traditionally known as parciantes. While the flow in the ditch is regulated, water has "never ceased to flow" each year.

According to the Historic American Engineering Record, the Acequia Madre is "probably the oldest Spanish acequia system remaining in the Southwest and can easily be traced today."

Route

The Acequia Madre originates near the location of the Los Cerros Reservoir in the southeastern area of Santa Fe, and extends west for several miles. It flows parallel to Acequia Madre Road, along the south side of the road, through the Camino del Monte Sol Historic District.

Description

The Acequia Madre continues to flow annually through a ditch that is partially stone lined, and approximately one to two feet deep. Its width ranges from approximately two feet to five feet wide. Mature cottonwood trees grow along the ditch, mainly between the ditch and the adobe walls and coyote fences of various properties. Several historical houses are adjacent to the ditch, some of those along the south side still use acequia water to irrigate orchards, alfalfa and other grain fields, vegetable gardens. These plantings were watered by smaller ditches perpendicular to the Mother Ditch. It was a Spanish custom to deed land in parcels in long and narrow strips to such that each property had equal access to the acequia water. There was a historical mill at the intersection of Acequia Madre Road and Abeyta Street, where the Acequia del Ranchos (shown on the King Map) intersected with the Acequia Madre.

The Acequia Madre House

A historical Territorial Revivial-style house known as the Acequia Madre House was built in 1926 by the American artist Eva Scott Féynes along with her daughter and granddaughter. These three women "who would not be constrained by societal codes" devoted their lives to cultural conservation, including the study of Northern New Mexico ethnobotany, Native American songs and languages, Southwestern architecture and folk art. The house is now the headquarters for Women's International Study Center.

Documentation

The Library of Congress holds an archive of photographic prints of the acequia.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Acequia Madre". Historic Santa Fe Foundation. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  2. Simmons, Mark (10 January 2014). "Trail Dust: Report gave glimpse of Santa Fe in 1766". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Acequia Madre of Santa Fe, Extends 2 miles west beginning near the Los Cerros Reservoir, Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, NM". Library of Congress. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  4. ^ Weideman, Paul (26 May 2017). "Rite of spring: Phillip Bové lectures on the Acequia Madre". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  5. Historic American Engineering Record. "Acequia Madre of Santa Fe" (PDF). Library of Congress/National Park System. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  6. "Santa Fe New Mexico, United States". Encyclopedia Britanica. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  7. "Acequia Madre" (PDF). Santa Fe Library. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  8. Office of the State Engineer Interstate Stream Commission. "Acequia Information". ose.state.nm.us. State of New Mexico. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  9. ^ United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places. "Camino Monte del Sol Historic District". Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  10. "Acequia Madre House Historical Women". New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  11. Weideman, Paul (7 June 2020). "Acequia Madre House readies reopening". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  12. "Acequia Madre House". New Mexico Archives. Retrieved 5 July 2022.

Further reading

  • Rivera, José A., Acequia Culture: Water, Land, and Community in the Southwest, University of New Mexico Press, 1998, ISBN 9780826318596
  • N. Raheem, S. Archambault, E. Arellano, M. Gonzales, D. Kopp, J. Rivera, S. Guldan, K. Boykin, C. Oldham, A. Valdez, S. Colt, E. Lamadrid, J. Wang, J. Price, J. Goldstein, P. Arnold, S. Martin, E. Dingwell. A framework for assessing ecosystem services in acequia irrigation communities of the Upper Río Grande watershed, DOI 10.1002/wat2.1091, June 2015
  • Peña, Devon G. The Watershed Commonwealth of the Upper Rio Grande. In: Natural Assets: Democratizing Environmental Ownership, eds. James K. Boyce and Barry G. Shelley. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, pp. 169–85. 2003.
  • Crawford, Stanley. Mayordomo: Chronicle of an Acequia in Northern New Mexico, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, ISBN 0826314457, 1993.
  • Rodriguez, Sylvia. Acequia: Water Sharing, Sanctity, and Place, School for Advanced Research Press, Santa Fe, ISBN 1930618557, 2006.
  • Arellano, Juan Estivan. Enduring Acequias: Wisdom of the Land, Knowledge of the Water, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, ISBN 9780826355072, 2014.

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