Preserving history not only preserves memories, it protects them.
For the East Mountain Historical Society (EMHS), preserving history means conserving artifacts that tell the story of “la cultura de las montañas” — the culture of the mountains.
To continue its mission to preserve and document history in the East Mountains, the historical society has plans to restore a historic property that has been a home, store, post office, saloon and dance hall dating back to the 1820s.
The EMHS, established in 1992, is a volunteer organization dedicated to protecting historical buildings, archaeological sites and historically significant landscapes in the Sandia, Manzano and Manzanita Mountain towns and villages. This area includes Tijeras, Carnuel, San Antonio, Canoncito, Sedillo, Cedro, Juan Tomas, Yrisarri, Escobosa, Chilili and portions of historic Route 66 and the Turquoise Trail.
Preserving memories
To collect its historical data, the EMHS interviews older residents, researches information in state libraries and archives, copies historic photographs and documents and receives donated historic artifacts. This was the case for the historic Campo Stone House property located on North 14 in San Antonio.
In March 2023, the Campo Stone House was donated to the EMHS by Charles Jackson, a descendant of Carlos Campo, who was the original owner of the property.
“The EMHS has had its eye on that building for probably the last decade because it was unoccupied and was a wonderful building of masonry and adobe and a prime location for the East Mountains,” said Robyn Hoffman, president of the EMHS. “It was too big a project to take on since we didn’t have much financing. Then, Mr. Jackson called us and said ‘Well, what if I buy it for you, would you restore it?’”
In an EMHS newsletter, Jackson said he and his wife saw the for sale sign on the property — where his grandmother was born — and knew he needed to do something because he felt connected to it. He bought and donated the property to the historical society because he saw the organization’s “success and projects” and wanted “to receive family recognition.”
History and future of Campo Stone House
According to EHMS, the property was established in 1820 when the Cañon de Carnue’ Land Grant was settled. A soldier’s 1862 journal from the Civil War was recovered, which had drawings of the property used as an enclosure. In 1887, Carlos Campo purchased the property and it served as a store, saloon and post office. After Campo and his wife died, Flaviano and Dulcinea Sanchez purchased the property in 1929 and converted it into a home. Dulcinea lived in the home until she died in 2003 and it has since remained vacant.
“This property was so important in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and it’s doubly important for the 20th century because there’s a lot of history and culture that’s encapsulated in this small property,” Hoffman said. “It’s adjacent to one of the earliest known Pueblo sites in these mountains and we have found pottery sherds from the 1300s just on the property.”
Hoffman said the historical society had an evaluation team conduct a structural integrity report on the premises, selected a firm to develop the master plan and obtained $160,000 to fund the preliminary planning stages. They hope to receive approximately $1.5 million in federal grant funding to contribute to the restoration of the building, which will house the permanent headquarters for the EMHS and a cultural and educational visitors center.
“The archives will be moved in there and be more available to the public,” Hoffman said. “We plan to build out on the original footprint of the building to the extent that’s feasible and make some historical architectural accuracy. We’re planning to leave all the original, architectural elements in the building that are viable, such as the vigas and one of the stone walls appears to be structurally sound.”
The EMHS is hoping to have the property habitable by 2026. They are continuously seeking volunteers and currently seeking a development officer who will be in charge of the organization’s grants. To volunteer contact Hoffman at president@eastmountainhistory.org.