Monday, November 28 at 6 PM - 8 PM

Hotel Santa Fe, The Hacienda & Spa

1501 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

Presentation summary: When most towns and villages in the Southwest were founded, they were oriented according to the rivers that were located near. Houses and shops faced the river. People went to the river for sustenance, for commerce and for travel.

Ferries were critical bottlenecks of commerce and travel across the major rivers of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah from the frontier period through the 1960s. Although the Southwest is an arid region, over 50 commercial ferry crossings are known to have existed on rivers such as the Colorado, Rio Grande, Gila, Arkansas, and others. 

Changing economic priorities and the construction of modern highway and railroad bridges eventually eliminated the need for them. Before our project, knowledge of these ferries were slipping away.

This presentation will provide an overview of the Southwest Ferry Project, with a special emphasis on New Mexico, using historic and modern photos, census records, old newspaper clippings and research done by both partners, Gary Cascio and Bryan Brown.

For more info on Southwest Seminars, please visit: http://www.southwestseminars.org/sws/Contents.html

(There will probably be a fee of $12 or more for non-Southwest Seminar members)