Michael Satterfield
I am all about taking the long way when I am on a road trip. So on a recent trip between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, I opted to take a little detour to the small town of Madrid, New Mexico. Instead of taking Interstate 25, head east on Interstate 40/ Route 66 to New Mexico State Road 14, known as the Turquoise Trail. The route is about 75 miles and is a National Scenic Byway that snakes its way through the Ortiz Mountains.
Madrid was originally a coal-mining town, the mines opened in the mid-1830s and while the growing number of houses and shops was called Madrid, the town was always owned by the mining companies and never officially incorporated. By the 1950s, the coal mine was shut down taking the majority of the jobs and residents along with it. The whole town was listed for sale in the Wall Street Journal in 1954 for the sum of $250,000, however, there were no takers and the small community slowly became a ghost town.
In the 1970s the family that owned Madrid began to sell some of the old company houses as cabins and began promoting the area to people from Albuquerque and Santa Fe as a place to have a weekend home. The lower prices attracted a number of artists from the area and soon the small town became known for its art galleries, boutiques, and several restaurants. There are few lodging options in Madrid as most people simply make a day trip of it, however, a few Bed & Breakfasts are in town as well as options via Airbnb if you are wanting to stay.
