Following the Santa Fe Trail Tour, Day 4 (Sept. 25, 2021)

By Mark Wing, based on research by Paul and Marilyn Duncan and Dave Ferro. Photos by Mark Wing (unless otherwise noted).

This tour day began with breakfast at Charlie’s Spic & Span – Bakery and Cafe’. After breakfast, we briefly returned to the Plaza Hotel to prepare for the day’s activities. This was an unscheduled day, meaning that club members could do whatever they wanted to such as going to antique stores, exploring the local architecture, or going on another tour. Almost everyone decided to take a drive to Mora, NM and visit the Cleveland Roller Mill Museum followed by lunch at the Main Street Grill. The early evening of this last tour day was spent having appetizers and wine in the Duncan’s Hotel Suite. We usually conclude our tours with a banquet at a restaurant, but due to Covid conditions, no local restaurant was staffed sufficiently to handle a group of our size.

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The Cleveland Roller Mill Museum was restored over a ten year period by current owner Dan Cassidy. His ancestors used to operate the mill and it’s now the only operational mill of its type in the southwest. The mill is now used for educational and demonstration purposes. In Mora County in 1910, over 500,000 bushels of wheat were produced at this and several other mills in the area. The museum has excellent photos, documentation, and milling equipment that tell the story about milling and farming in northern New Mexico in the 1800’s through the mid-1900’s. Our tour guide was Roquin who is also a visual artist. She was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. A visit to this museum is highly recommended if visiting Mora County.