Bishop''s Lodge - Retreat to Resort Page 4

By Thomas E. Chávez

Historian, author, former Director of the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe and

former Executive Director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

In New Mexico there is a sense of history. Yesteryear can be felt and seen. From the general
landscape down to a particular location, the history and the stories of the past are alive. So
it is with The Bishop's Lodge. Santa Fe is the oldest European capitol city in the country,
and yet the modern laboratories that created the atomic bomb are a short drive away, as are
ancient Indian ruins that date back to the 12th century. Set in a land that has the place
names and natural settings of long histories, The Bishop's Lodge is a part of that legacy.

James R. Thorpe, a Denver mining man, became intrigued with New Mexico and purchased
the property that is now The Bishop's Lodge in 1918, but he had already bought into the
area's history. He wanted to create a place where others could immerse themselves in "old
New Mexico." The property was located on the old road north out of Santa Fe at the cut-off
for the "Borrego Trail," or sheep trail. For decades shepherds had been taking their flocks to
the high country along this trail. Before the Spanish came to New Mexico, the old road had
been a trail connecting the northern Pueblos to those of the Galisteo Basin. The property
was a Spanish "suerte," or land grant, that had an old acequia, or irrigation ditch, used by
settlers from as early as the late 18th century. Most notably, Thorpe's new property had an
adobe, or mud brick, chapel that had been constructed for the controversial Archbishop
Jean B. Lamy, who established the Archdiocese of Santa Fe beginning in 1853. Old gardens
and two more recent residences completed the property that became basis for Thorpe's
dream of creating a "fine resort" that he naturally named "The Bishop's Lodge."

Over time, Thorpe and his wife, who was known as "Mamacita" and who succeeded him
for many years, invested, cared for, and improved The Bishop's Lodge. The family ran the
resort for 80 years until it was sold to the current ownership in 1998. The Thorpe family's
appreciation for the history and spirit of The Bishop's Lodge resulted in a resort that
became a place where visitors are as easily smitten with "old New Mexico" as any of the
parade of historical figures who preceded them. The Bishop's Lodge is a destination that
bespeaks New Mexico as much as any site in the state.

We invite you to enjoy the scenery, the climate, and the surrounding history just as people
have done here for centuries. Most of all, we hope you appreciate the caring lesson that
created this "place of being."

Myra Ellen Jenkins was a great friend and teacher of mine. I was a pallbearer at her
funeral. As will happen with me after my death, subsequent historians have learned
new facts to correct or build upon recorded history, so minor revisions have been made
to Dr. Jenkins' original text.