This is a collection of English translations of the Spanish Archives of New Mexico, which was an endeavor of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the mid-1930s. Records in this collection document matters of estates, land grants, wills, government, and relations between Spanish colonists, Native Americans, and Anglo Americans in New Mexico between 1682 and 1855. Translations were made by WPA employees in New Mexico, and a typed set were donated to the Southwest Museum in 1938.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a relief measure established in 1935 by executive order. From 1935 until its end in 1943, the WPA employed more than 8.5 million people and established almost 1.5 million projects, including construction of roads, dams, schools and other public facilities, murals in public buildings, written guides to each state, and the Historical Records Survey. Administrative control of these projects was turned over to the states in 1939.Twitchell was a prominent New Mexico lawyer and the most notable historian of New Mexico of his time. In May 1892 Twitchell helped save the Santa Fe Archives from a fire that destroyed the territorial capital building. In 1914 he published Spanish Archives of New Mexico, which was the first calendar and guide to the Spanish Archives manuscript collection (the same that he had earlier helped save from fire) and was used to develop the finding aids for the Archives.

4 Linear Feet (5 document boxes)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.