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Abo Mission at Abo NM

Photos courtesy of Mike Sinnwell October 2014

Abo pronounced ah-bo means "poor place".  Some will argue it means "water bowl". After visiting the site I can imagine either name fitting the location. These missions were an important center of activity for the Indians. The compound had dining halls, courtyards, corrals, kitchens, sleeping rooms, cells, offices, lofts, sacristy, and baptismal fonts and more. You can even see Kivas within the structures. Animals grazed nearby and crops were grown around the mission.

Indians lived in this area dating back as far as 950 AD when Abo pass was inhabited by Mogollon pithouse builders. By 1150 AD the small village of Abo was emerging. The Anasazi invaded around 1350 AD and perhaps they blended in with the local population. The next invasion was the Spanish in 1622. At that time there was around 800 Indians living in the area. By 1680 during the Pueblo Revolt most everyone had left Abo for the pueblo of Socorro del Sur.