Communities throughout New Mexico maintain museums that showcase local art and history. Some of these cultural heritage institutions have close ties to public libraries. Two such museums are located in Valencia County, south of Albuquerque.
Today, we visit the Belén Harvey House Museum, "a branch of the Belén Public Library." In a future post, we will examine the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage & Arts, "a branch of the Los Lunas Public Library."
The city's Harvey House Museum preserves an important chapter of what some historians and anthropologists consider the oldest restaurant chain in the United States. Harvey Houses existed on railroad routes during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, offering travelers a place to enjoy a meal, purchase souvenirs, and sometimes enjoy local tours or overnight accommodations.
New Mexico's "Bethlehem"
Spanish colonists received a land grant to establish a settlement in 1740. Named Nuestra Señora de Belén (Our Lady of Bethlehem), the City of Belén sits alongside the Rio Grande in Valencia County, approximately 32 miles south of downtown Albuquerque.
The early settlers of this frontier community included Spanish colonists and genízaros, formerly enslaved and detribalized Indigenous people. Genízaros settled in many New Mexican communities as a way of obtaining titles to land through the 1800s.
The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway extended its service to Belén in 1880. A new railroad cutoff at Belén in 1907 allowed for more trains to transit through the Southwest with less change in elevation. Since this time, Belén has remained a busy hub for transcontental railroad traffic, often taking the name "Hub City."
Today, Belén has a population of approximately 7,500. Despite its relatively small size, Belén maintains an excellent public library and the Harvey House Museum that is operated by the library and volunteers.
Taking the Train to Belén
Since our Museum visit focuses on the history of railroads in the American Southwest, it only makes sense to take the train to Belén. Fortunately, the New Mexico Rail Runner Express offers convenient service on a 97-mile route that spans from Santa Fe, through the Albuquerque metro, and southward to Belén.
Before going to the Museum, we will stop at the Belén Public Library. Located on Becker Avenue, the library has a substantial number of books and collections for a community of this size.
The Belén Public Library
One of the things I have enjoyed the most about visiting various New Mexico communities is going to their public libraries. In a state rich with diverse history, each library collects and captures local voices and preserves heritage, while also offering its patrons access to the broader world.
Fred Harvey and His Harvey Houses
A native of England, Frederick Henry Harvey (1835-1901) came to America as a teenager. He worked in the restaurant business. In 1876, he entered into an agreement with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe (AT&SF) Railway to establish dining sites and restaurants along the railroad's routes.
Harvey's partnerships with the AT&SF Railway and other railroad lines allowed him to open a variety of places along their routes. Trains would stop, guests would dine, and passengers would return to the locomotives with full bellies and, oftentimes, souvenirs.
At the time of Harvey's death in February 1901, this company had 65 dining facilities and restaurants in 12 states. His family continued to operate the Fred Harvey Company into the mid-20th century.
Some Harvey House structures became places to dine, such as the beautifully restored one in Belén. Others served as full-service hotels. A few of these venues also offered so-called "Indian Detours" in Harveycars that allowed railroad passengers to take guided tours to Pueblos, mountains, and natural features in New Mexico and other areas of the Southwest.
The Harvey Girls
The success of all Harvey House destinations depended on the so-called "Harvey Girls." At a time when economic opportunities were limited for many women, some left home to gain a new sense of independence, with curfews and limitations of course, in the American Southwest.
Single women between the ages of 18 and 30 could gain employment as a Harvey Girl. These women lived in or near the dining facilities where they worked their shifts. They were expected to remain single during their contracts.
A senior Harvey Girl oversaw the activities of the other women. This Dorm Mother enforced rigid curfews, ensured that Harvey Girls wore their black-and-white uniforms properly, and that they never used makeup or cosmetics. Marriage was the reason that most Harvey Girls left employment.
Although some Harvey Houses continued to operate into the 1960s as part of the company, the Harvey Girls gained a strong reputation for their hospitality in the American West long before World War II.
In 1942, Samuel Hopkins Adams wrote The Harvey Girls as a novel. Four years later, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released a film adaptation of this work that starred Judy Garland, Ray Bolger (the "Scarecrow" in The Wizard of Oz), and Angela Lansbury.
Enjoying the Museum
Workers built the Belén Harvey House in 1910. This structure never served as a hotel. The ground floor included a lunchroom and a separate first-class dining room for the railroad passengers. A newsstand also existed where visitors could purchase souvenirs.
The goal was to get the passengers into the Harvey House, feed them quickly, and send them on their way. The Harvey Girls professionally served the guests meals and had no time for small talk. The AT&SF Railway maintained a rigid schedule to ensure that travelers could get to their destinations.
Passengers who dined in the first-class dining room enjoyed meals served on fine china, on carefully dressed tables with silver and crystal. A small manager's office near the newsstand serves as the gift shop today.
The second floor included bedrooms for the manager, the Dorm Mother, and the Harvey Girls who lived two-to-a-room. Today, guests can see rooms that preserve the living conditions of Harvey Girls between the 1910s and the late 1930s.
The increased use of dining cars on the AT&SF Railway led to the closure of this Harvey House in 1939. The facility reopened during World War II to serve troops that were transported by rail. From the 1950s until 1980, the building became known as the "Santa Fe Reading Room," a place where railroad workers could get a little sleep or take a break.
A Nourishing Visit
I visted the Belén on a Wednesday. Although the Whistle Stop Café was not open during my time at the Museum, I enjoyed the scent of the baked goods that volunteers had started to prepare for Thursday.
To preserve the legacy of the Fred Harvey experience and raise funds for the Museum, volunteers sell coffee, tea, and a variety of baked goods. These treats may be enjoyed in a portion of the Museum that has period pieces and artifacts.
The Harvey Legacy
A few of the Harvey House structures remain today. El Tovar on the southern rim of the Grand Canyon and La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe continue to serve as top-level accommodations long after their association with the Fred Harvey Company came to an end.
Other structures closed for a significant period of time. The Castañeda, a former Harvey House in Las Vegas, remained closed for more than seven decades before reopening as a hotel.
The Alvarado Hotel in downtown Albuquerque closed at the end of the 1960s. Crews demolished the structure in 1970. Today, this site serves as the Alvarado Transportation Center, a hub for city buses, the Rail Runner, Amtrak, and other regional transportation services.
The "Santa Fe" name remains a part of America's railroad empire. In September 1995, the AT&SF Railway merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad. Since 1996, this company has been commonly known as the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway, or BNSF.
This visit to Belén was one of many I plan to make as I discover more of New Mexico's history and cultural heritage.
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