Future of State's El Camino Real Museum Remains Uncertain

State officials  will renew their efforts to find a good use for the closed El Camino Real Historic Trail Site in the desert off Interstate 25 between Socorro and Truth or Consequences.

The $10 million, 14-year-old, 20,000-square-foot building sitting on a 120-acre site has been shuttered since late 2016 due state budget cutbacks.

“The remote location didn’t help it any either,” said Patrick Moore, director of New Mexico Historic Sites. “Access was an issue and visitation was low.”

The award winning building housed a museum dedicated to the 1,500-mile Camino Real trade route that ran between Mexico City and Santa Fe.

Spanish conquistador Don Juan Oñate and his army of settlers used the route in 1598 to conquer New Mexico.

Former Governor Bill Richardson’s administration created the museum originally called the El Camino Real International Heritage Center. It was built about a mile and half off the highway with no immediate exit. 

Motorists had to instead exit a few miles down the highway at the Santa Fe Diner where they could double back along the frontage road to a gravel access road just behind a rest area on the highway.

Moore noted that in fiscal year 2016 the historic site cost about $400,000 to operate while only earning about $7,000 from an estimated 1,500 paid visits.

Several years of severe state budget cutbacks under Governor Susana Martinez’s administration eventually forced the closure, he said.

All of the historic items that had been on display at the site have been returned or stored and the building and its adjacent staff housing area remain vacant.

Since the closure the city of Socorro has pursued its own plans to open a museum dedicated to the Camino Real. Those plans include utilizing volunteers that formerly worked at the state’s historic site. 

Moore said he doesn’t expect to see the site’s building and property reopened for its original purpose or put up for sale. A possible use would be having academic institutions use it for teaching, research and conferences.

“We’re going to explore all possibilities,” he said. “It won’t be left in limbo.”