Blog – The Land Keeps Time

The old Santo Niño Church, also known as the Holy Child Catholic Church, is a historic adobe chapel in Tijeras, New Mexico, completed around 1912. Originally part of the Cañón de Carnué Land Grant, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Though nearly demolished during the construction of Interstate 40, it was saved and is now owned by the Village of Tijeras as a community museum and event space. A Landmark in the "Scissors" of the Canyon The Santo Niño Church stands at a vital crossroads in New Mexico history. The name "Tijeras" means "scissors" in Spanish, describing the way the Sandia and Manzano mountains converge like blades at this pass. The Sandia Mountains rise to the north, the Manzanos to the south, and between them runs a narrow pass that has served as a corridor for nearly a thousand years. For centuries, this canyon served as the primary gateway between the Rio Grande Valley and the eastern plains, used by Puebloan, Apache, and Navajo peoples long before Spanish settlers arrived. The village that grew up at this junction took its name from the Spanish word for scissors, a description of both the landscape and the convergence of trails that once met here. While some records suggest the church has roots in the late 1800s, the official adobe structure was completed around 1912. It was built to serve the small, rugged community of families living in the Tijeras Canyon area. It no longer holds regular services but remains standing as a record of the community that built it and the forces that nearly erased it. Tijeras, meaning 'scissors,' refers to the convergence of the mountain ranges and the meeting of major travel corridors through this central New Mexico pass. The Land Beneath the Church The ground on which the Santo Niño Church sits was once part of the Cañón de Carnué Land Grant, a Spanish colonial holding established in 1763. Governor Tomás Vélez Cachupín created the grant to serve as a buffer zone between Albuquerque and the Apache and Comanche groups who used the canyon as a route for raiding parties. The first settlers were landless families from Albuquerque, including Genízaros and Mestizos, who built a fortified plaza near present-day Carnuel. The settlement did not last. After an Apache attack in 1770, the survivors fled back to the Rio Grande Valley. The governor ordered the remaining structures destroyed so they could not be used by raiding parties. For nearly fifty years, the canyon remained largely unsettled. In 1819, the grant was re-established, and new villages were founded. One of these, called La Tijera, gave its name to the area that would become Tijeras. The boundaries of the grant extended from the canyon entrance to this scissors-shaped junction where the trails converged. After New Mexico became a U.S. Territory in 1848, the legal status of Spanish land grants grew uncertain. The Court of Private Land Claims spent decades adjudicating these holdings. By 1903, the Cañón de Carnué Grant had been reduced from approximately 90,000 acres to just 2,000. The rest passed into the public domain or were sold to private buyers. This fragmentation allowed families like the Kelehers to acquire parcels in the early twentieth century. The Kelehers were prominent in New Mexico during that era. William A. Keleher was an attorney and historian specializing in land-grant law. His brother Thomas was involved in land development throughout the East Mountains. It was from one of their tracts that the land for the church was donated. Completed in 1912, the Santo Niño Church served as a central religious site for the rugged mountain families of the Tijeras Canyon area. The Keleher Family and the "Reversion" of the Church The property was given to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in the early 1900s with a specific condition attached. The deed included a reversionary clause stating that if the land ceased to be used for religious purposes, ownership would return to the original donors. This was a common provision at the time, intended to ensure that donated property served its intended purpose. The church operated under Archdiocese ownership from 1912 until around 1930. Some records refer to the building during this period as the Immaculate Conception Church, though that name did not endure. By 1930, official church services at the small adobe structure had ceased. The reversionary clause was triggered. Legal ownership returned to the Keleher family. The building remained empty for approximately five years. In 1935, local residents took matters into their own hands. They re-appropriated the structure for community worship and renamed it Santo Niño. Over the following years, they added an altar and a sacristy. The community maintained the building even though the legal title remained with the Keleher family. This arrangement persisted for nearly three decades. In 1962, Holy Child Parish was officially established by Archbishop Byrne. The following year, the property was formally transferred back to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. By that time, plans were already underway for a new, larger church to serve the growing community. The modern Holy Child Church was completed and dedicated in 1971. It was built nearby on Camino del Santo Niño, leaving the old adobe chapel without a clear purpose. When the Archdiocese declined to maintain both structures, the future of the original building once again became uncertain. How Interstate 40 Almost Destroyed the Chapel The construction of Interstate 40 through Tijeras Canyon in the mid-twentieth century reshaped the landscape and threatened structures along its path. The highway was designed to replace Route 66 as the primary east-west corridor through New Mexico. Engineers planned a route that would straighten the curves and widen the roadbed to accommodate modern trucking traffic. The Santo Niño Church was condemned during this process. The building appeared to stand in the path of the new highway and was marked for demolition. Engineering plans shifted as construction progressed. The final alignment of the interstate did not require removing the chapel. The building was spared. When the Archdiocese was asked to reclaim the property after the highway construction was complete, officials declined. The church had been replaced by a newer facility, and maintaining the old adobe structure was not a priority for the organization. Ownership was transferred to the Village of Tijeras, ensuring the building would remain in public hands rather than returning to private ownership or falling into disrepair. The structure was almost demolished during the construction of Interstate 40, but it was saved and eventually became a landmark for the Village of Tijeras. Interstate 40 now dominates the movement through the canyon. It is one of the busiest east-west trucking routes in the United States, carrying thousands of vehicles daily through the pass. The old Route 66 alignment still exists in places, marked by vintage signs and weathered pavement that run parallel to or beneath the elevated interstate. The Singing Road Near the village of Tijeras, a quarter-mile stretch of the old Route 66 pavement has been preserved as the Singing Road. The section was engineered with precisely spaced rumble strips tuned to play "America the Beautiful" when a vehicle drives over them at exactly 45 miles per hour. The installation transforms the roadway into a musical instrument, audible through the tires and suspension of a moving car. The Singing Road was created as a tribute to Route 66's cultural significance and as a reminder of the road's role in American westward expansion and travel. Drivers who maintain the correct speed hear the melody through vibrations transmitted from the pavement through their vehicle. Those who drive too fast or too slow hear only an arrhythmic rumble. The feature has become a destination for Route 66 enthusiasts and travelers seeking remnants of the Mother Road. It sits within view of both the historic Santo Niño Church and the modern parish facility, connecting the layers of movement and memory that have accumulated in the canyon over centuries. [Image Block – Route 66 or roadway detail] The Present Condition The Santo Niño Church has been listed on the State Register of Cultural Properties since 1977 and on the National Register of Historic Places. The Village of Tijeras owns and maintains the building. Renovations have been undertaken under the oversight of the State Historic Preservation Office. The structure is available for community rentals and events, but no longer serves as an active place of worship. The modern Holy Child Parish continues to operate from its 1971 facility on Camino del Santo Niño. A multipurpose Religious Education Center was added in 1996, and a Catholic school opened on the grounds in 2008. The parish is part of the Albuquerque B Deanery within the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Tijeras has grown considerably since its incorporation in 1973. The population now includes families from outside New Mexico who have moved to the area for its rural setting and proximity to Albuquerque. Development along Highway 14 has increased. The village government has established a range of municipal services, including a library, fire department, and motor vehicle office. [Image Block – Landscape / exterior establishing image] Visiting the Church Today Today, the "Old Church" is no longer used for weekly mass but serves as a vital piece of living history. The building has been empty of regular worship for more than fifty years now, but it remains as a marker of the community that sustained it and the legal and historical forces that moved it from hand to hand across a century. You can find the church in the village of Tijeras, directly next to the Luis Garcia Park and Veterans' Monument. Frequently Asked Questions What does "Tijeras" mean in New Mexico? Tijeras is the Spanish word for "scissors." The name describes the geographic "scissor-like" junction where the Sandia and Manzano mountain ranges converge, as well as the intersection where major historical trails and modern highways (I-40 and NM 14) meet. When was the Santo Niño Church built? The historic adobe chapel was completed around 1912. Some local records and historical context suggest religious activity on the site may date back to the late 1800s, but the primary structure seen today is an early 20th-century construction. Is the old Santo Niño Church still an active parish? No, the historic chapel ceased regular religious services in the early 1970s. The active congregation moved to the modern Holy Child Catholic Parish building nearby in 1971. The original building is now owned by the Village of Tijeras. Can you visit the inside of the historic Tijeras church? The building is maintained by the Village of Tijeras as a museum and multi-use facility. While it is not open for daily walk-in tours like a standard museum, it is available for community rentals, weddings, and special events. What is the "Singing Road" near Tijeras? Located on a segment of Historic Route 66 near the village of Tijeras, the "Singing Road" consists of specially spaced rumble strips. When driven at exactly 45 miles per hour, the tires' vibration plays the tune of "America the Beautiful." Who were the original settlers of Tijeras Canyon? The area was originally inhabited by Indigenous Puebloan peoples. In 1763, the Spanish government established the Cañón de Carnué Land Grant, settling it with landless families from Albuquerque—primarily Genízaros and Mestizos—to serve as a strategic buffer against raids. Works Cited (1) Historical Church | Village of Tijeras. Accessed February 16, 2026. https://www.tijerasnm.gov/historical-church/ (2) Village of Tijeras Comprehensive Master Plan February 2003. Accessed February 16, 2026. https://www.tijerasnm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Village-of-Tijeras-Comprehensive-Master-Plan.pdf (3) Our Heritage | Village of Tijeras. Accessed February 16, 2026. https://www.tijerasnm.gov/our-heritage/ (4) About - Holy Child Parish - Tijeras, NM. Accessed February 16, 2026. https://holychildparishnm.org/about-us (5) Section 3: History - Bernalillo County Planning. Accessed February 14, 2026. https://www.bernco.gov/planning/wp-content/uploads/sites/58/2021/04/section3_history.pdf(6) Stolzier, Jim. “East Mountain Towns.” In Albuquerque’s Environmental Story. Friends of Albuquerque’s Environmental Story, 2008. https://albuqhistsoc.org/aes/s2emt.html (6) Stolzier, Jim. 2008. “East Mountain Towns.” Albuquerque’s Environmental Story. https://albuqhistsoc.org/aes/s2emt.html