Historical Marker

Mary Cabot Wheelwright (1878−1958) and Amelia Elizabeth White (1878–1972)

Historical marker location:

I-25, Santa Fe vicinity, New Mexico

( La Bajada rest area)

Side 1

Born in Boston, art heiress Mary Cabot Wheelwright came to New Mexico for an extended visit in the 1920s. She restored and lived in Los Luceros, a centuries old Rio Grande estate. Her understanding and advocacy of Navajo spirituality resulted from her association with ceremonial singer Hastiin Klah. Wheelwright created the Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art, now the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian.

Side 2

Amelia Elizabeth White worked tirelessly to promote Indian art and to preserve Santa Fe’s heritage. A philanthropist and community activist, she donated land for the Laboratory of Anthropology and Wheelwright Museum, gave the city its first animal shelter, and established the Garcia Street Club for neighborhood children. Her estate, once a gathering place for local artists, is now home to the School for Advanced Research.