The Camel Corps at Coronado Historic Site

Get up close to camels and learn about the history of the Texas Camel Corps at Coronado Historic Site during a family-friendly event on Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This special event is presented by New Mexico Historic Sites and The Friends of Coronado and Jemez Historic Sites.

Visitors will learn about the history of camels in the Southwest through activities including tinsmith, coiled pottery, silversmith, and leather demonstrations, storytelling, and talks by Doug Baum, owner/operator of Texas Camel Corps. Baum will share more about the history of camels in New Mexico while letting people interact with the camels. Guided tours of the site and reconstructed painted kiva will also be offered.

"The Friends of Coronado and Jemez Historic Sites are thrilled to bring Texas Camel Corps to the Site and provide an interactive, educational but fun experience for the public and our members," said Friends President Sherry Hardage. "Where else are you able to touch and see a camel up close?"

Camels have a brief, but interesting tie to New Mexico’s history. During the Gold Rush in the 1850s, the US Army launched an ambitious experiment to find pack animals that could haul gold and supplies while surviving water scarcity in the Southwest. Camels were brought from Egypt and Turkey to Texas for training. In 1859, a group of surveyors tasked with building a 1,000-mile road from Arkansas to California traveled with 25 camels on their expedition, stopping along the way through Las Cruces, Los Lunas, Albuquerque, Laguna Pueblo, and what is today El Morro National Monument.

Admission to Camels at Coronado is $10 per person and free to children 16 and younger, Friends of Coronado and Jemez members, Museum of New Mexico Foundation members, Native/Tribal affiliations, NM disabled veterans, and NM foster families. Tickets are available for advanced purchase online at https://my.nmculture.org/32482/43386 or at the event. Support for this event is provided by the Town of Bernalillo Lodgers’ Tax Grant.

About Coronado Historic Site

Coronado Historic Site and ancient Kuaua Pueblo are located in Bernalillo, with the scenic Rio Grande and Sandia Mountains to the east. In 1540, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado entered the Rio Grande valley somewhere near this site while searching for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. Instead of treasure, he found a dozen Native farming villages. The site shares the complex history between the Indigenous Tiwa People and the Spanish explorers. Visitors can learn more about this history at the Visitor Center Museum, as well as explore the footprint of the ancient Kuaua Pueblo, a reconstructed kiva, and Kuaua kiva murals dating back 500 years. Learn more at nmhistoricsites.org/coronado.

Photos: 1) The Texas Camel Corps at a historical re-enactment campout.  2) The Texas Camel Corps re-enactor with a camel.
Credit: Courtesy of Doug Baum, Texas Camel Corps

This press release and all others distributed by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs can be found here.