1998 32c Spanish Settlement of the Southwest

US #3220
1998 Spanish Settlement of the Southwest 1598

• Commemorates the 400th anniversary of the first Spanish settlement
• Pictures a re-creation of the first chapel

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Value:  32¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  July 11, 1998
First Day City:  Espanola, New Mexico
Quantity Issued:  46,300,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset
Format:  Pane of 20
Perforations:  11.2

Why the stamp was issued:  This stamp was issued in honor of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of New Mexico, the first European establishment in the United States.

About the stamp design:  Photographer Susan Hazen-Hammond is known for her work with Southwestern subjects.  She was asked to take pictures of La Misión de San Miguel de San Gabriel for the stamp.

Special design details:  As a security feature, microprinting was included in the design.  “1598” is printed above the left front window and “USPS is over the right front window.

First Day City:  The stamp was dedicated at La Misión de San Miguel de San Gabriel.  Eagle Dancers from a nearby Indian village performed at the ceremony.  Another ceremony took place in El Paso, Texas, where Spanish explorer Onate crossed the Rio Grande as he headed north.

History the stamp represents:  In 1598, Spanish explorer Don Juan de Oñate created the first European road in America – El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro – linking Mexico City to Spain’s northern territories in New Mexico.  Later he established the first European settlement at San Gabriel.  Built along the Rio Grande, this earliest of Spanish communities is a short distance from present-day Española. Oñate’s settlement predated the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia by nine years.
After settling in New Mexico, Oñate assumed the governorship until he fell out of favor with the Spanish government and resigned in 1607.  The settlement at San Gabriel served as New Mexico’s first capital, until it was moved to Santa Fe in 1609.  Santa Fe is still considered the oldest seat of government in the United States.
La Misión de San Miguel de San Gabriel, featured on the 1998 US postage stamp, is fashioned after the original chapel built by colonists in 1598.  Excavators discovered stone footings that were believed to be the chapel’s outline, but all other details of the building were unknown.  For the first settlers, the chapel served as a place to hold religious services, as well as a gathering place.  Today it is a community center.