The Journey
Recently, Dr. Kevin Moloney traveled into his past as he traversed the Santa Fe Trail. Moloney has familial ties to the trail. His great-great-grandfather, Dario Gallegos, bought and sold goods in the mid-1800s. An avid cyclist, Moloney moved along the trail via car and bike. He took the time to discuss his trip with Colorado Public Radio’s interview show, Colorado Matters.
Biking the trail allowed Moloney to reflect on his surroundings and the trail’s history. He cycled a portion of the trail in each state he traveled through, “I made a point of hopping on my bike, I’d pull over the car and find a nice stretch of the trail.” Researching his history and connecting to the ecology of the trail created a special experience for Moloney. “As a native westerner it was really particular exciting to sort of roll into the country where what you hear are red-winged black birds and meadowlarks and other bird songs that really inhabit my memories of the west.”
While many think of historic trails such as the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails as highways for travelers looking to settle the west, their place in providing resources and trade for residents should not be overlooked. A part of Moloney’s family history is the story of providing supplies and goods to the people of San Luis.
Dario Gallegos
Dario Gallegos was born near Taos, New Mexico in 1830. Moving into northern Colorado in 1851, he lead the establishment of the San Luis de Culebra settlement and started the first store in the San Luis Valley.
Dario Gallegos circa 1870, photo provided by the Latino History Project, and the R & R Market, now the San Luis People’s Market, built in 1857 photo from Google Maps..
Bringing items into San Luis from Missouri via covered wagon, Gallegos opened the R & R Market in San Luis, Colorado, in 1857. With items such as coffee, matches, chocolate, salt, and textiles, the store was one of the only sources of goods in the area.
Nineteen years before Colorado statehood, Gallegos looked to answer a question still faced today: How do we solve a food desert problem in a remote little town? His answer was the R & R Market which has recently been turned into a co-op and renamed the San Luis People’s Market.
The Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a route developed by William Becknell, a Missouri trader, in 1821. For nearly 60 years, the trail served as a commercial highway for both American and Mexican traders, connecting Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Franklin, Missouri.
Images by Kevin Moloney.
The trail has served as a trade route, a path for settlers heading west, and a road for military conquest. Although the need for the Santa Fe Trail diminished by the 1880s due to the advent of commercial railroads, its lasting legacy is the mixing of diverse cultures and ideas represented by its native children.