By the late 1800s, the major mode of transportation for travelers to the Southwest was by rail. In 1878, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company (AT&SF) became the first railroad to enter New Mexico, and by the late 1890s it controlled more than half of the track-miles in the Territory. The company wielded tremendous power in New Mexico, and soon made tourism an important facet of its financial enterprise.
All Aboard for Santa Fe focuses on the AT&SF's marketing efforts to highlight Santa Fe as an ideal tourism destination. The company marketed the healthful benefits of the area's dry desert air, a strong selling point for eastern city-dwelling tuberculosis sufferers. AT&SF also joined forces with the Fred Harvey Company, owner of numerous hotels and restaurants along the rail line, to promote Santa Fe. Together, they developed materials emphasizing Santa Fe's Indian and Hispanic cultures, promoting artists from the area's art colonies, and created the Indian Detours sightseeing tours.
All Aboard for Santa Fe is a comprehensive study of AT&SF's early involvement in the establishment of western tourism and the mystique of Santa Fe.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
Victoria E. Dye, a native New Mexican, spent her formative years exploring the Southwest with her family. After working for over a decade in New Mexico's tourism industry, Dye moved to California to complete a degree in history at the University of California, Davis, and a master's degree in history at California State University, Sacramento. Dye currently resides in the Davis area.
ACCLAIM
"A very nice addition to the literature describing the impact of the coming of the railroads to New Mexico and the West." -- Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc.
"[This is] a serious historical study of how the marketing efforts of the AT&SF impacted the city of Santa Fe and the surrounding region. It shows one aspect of railroad history that has often been neglected but which had a significant effect. Students of the Santa Fe Railroad and the region will enjoy it, as will all who recognize that railroads are often more than trains and tracks." -- National Railway Bulletin
"A nicely illustrated and clearly written look at the evolution of a sleepy, remote village to sophisticated center for the arts, fine dining, golf and skiing." -- Santa Fe New Mexican, NM
"This is an important study of the stimulation and growth of tourism in the region." -- Wagon Tracks
"This history of railway promotion in the Southwest from 1890-1930s may focus on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, but its marketing lessons are a must-read for anyone running a railroad today. . All Aboard for Santa Fe stands out from other AT&SF histories because it so thoroughly investigates how the railway promoted Santa Fe from the late 1800s to the beginning of WWII." -- True West
All Aboard for Santa Fe focuses on the AT&SF's marketing efforts to highlight Santa Fe as an ideal tourism destination. The company marketed the healthful benefits of the area's dry desert air, a strong selling point for eastern city-dwelling tuberculosis sufferers. AT&SF also joined forces with the Fred Harvey Company, owner of numerous hotels and restaurants along the rail line, to promote Santa Fe. Together, they developed materials emphasizing Santa Fe's Indian and Hispanic cultures, promoting artists from the area's art colonies, and created the Indian Detours sightseeing tours.
All Aboard for Santa Fe is a comprehensive study of AT&SF's early involvement in the establishment of western tourism and the mystique of Santa Fe.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
Victoria E. Dye, a native New Mexican, spent her formative years exploring the Southwest with her family. After working for over a decade in New Mexico's tourism industry, Dye moved to California to complete a degree in history at the University of California, Davis, and a master's degree in history at California State University, Sacramento. Dye currently resides in the Davis area.
ACCLAIM
"A very nice addition to the literature describing the impact of the coming of the railroads to New Mexico and the West." -- Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc.
"[This is] a serious historical study of how the marketing efforts of the AT&SF impacted the city of Santa Fe and the surrounding region. It shows one aspect of railroad history that has often been neglected but which had a significant effect. Students of the Santa Fe Railroad and the region will enjoy it, as will all who recognize that railroads are often more than trains and tracks." -- National Railway Bulletin
"A nicely illustrated and clearly written look at the evolution of a sleepy, remote village to sophisticated center for the arts, fine dining, golf and skiing." -- Santa Fe New Mexican, NM
"This is an important study of the stimulation and growth of tourism in the region." -- Wagon Tracks
"This history of railway promotion in the Southwest from 1890-1930s may focus on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, but its marketing lessons are a must-read for anyone running a railroad today. . All Aboard for Santa Fe stands out from other AT&SF histories because it so thoroughly investigates how the railway promoted Santa Fe from the late 1800s to the beginning of WWII." -- True West
