Antonio Mariano Armijo (1804–1850) was a Spanish

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

who is famous for leading the first commercial caravan party between Abiquiú, Nuevo México and San Gabriel Mission,

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

in 1829–1830. His route, the southernmost and most direct, is known as the Armijo Route of the Old Spanish Trail. Abiquiú was the starting point and eastern terminus of the original route of the Old Spanish Trail. Though segments of an overland route between the Spanish colonies of Nuevo México and Alta California had been blazed decades earlier, Armijo was the first to pioneer a complete route that traveled the entire length. Armijo traveled with sixty mounted men and a caravan of pack animals carrying blankets and other trade goods to barter for mules in California. The caravan left Abiquiú on 7 November 1829 and made the journey to the San Gabriel Mission in what is now

San Gabriel, California San Gabriel (Spanish for " St. Gabriel") is a city located in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California. At the 2010 census, the population was 39,718. San Gabriel was founded by the Spanish in 1771, when Mission San Gabriel Arc ...

in eighty-six days, arriving on 31 January 1830. He returned by the same route in 56 days, leaving 1 March and arriving on 25 April 1830. Unlike the other routes of the Old Spanish Trail, Armijo's route was documented day by day, although in a very brief report listing dates and stopping places, with few other details and no distances recorded. The report was submitted to the governor of Nuevo México, José Antonio Cháves, and published by the Mexican government on 19 June 1830.Diario que formo yo el ciudando Antonio Armijo, como comandante, para el descubrimiento del camino para el punto de las Californias (Diary made by citizen Antonio Armijo as commandant for the discovery of the route to the Californias), Official Register of the Government the United States of Mexico, 1830, pp. 205–206
from Old Spanish Trail Association website, oldspanishtrail.org accessed 14 February 2016LeRoy R. Hafen and Antonio Armijo, Armijo's Journal,Huntington Library Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Nov., 1947), pp. 87–101, Published by: University of California Press,DOI: 10.2307/3816035
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PHOTO #: WY0002a, CAPTION: Antonio Mariano Armijo on horse Fuego (Smokey) 1851. This pencil sketch by J. Lundquist. Antonio Mariano is oldest son of Jose Francisco Armijo and; Jesus Maria Armijo. See also: Rulofson Coll. No. RR-244L Year: 1851
from solanohistory.org accessed 30 October 2015. 1804 births 1850 deaths Mexican people of Spanish descent History of California History of Mexico 1829 in Mexico 1830 in Mexico History of New Mexico History of Nevada History of Utah History of Clark County, Nevada People from Santa Fe, New Mexico Spanish explorers of North America Explorers of California Explorers of New Mexico {{Explorer-stub