Experience Tucumcari’s History
Photo: Tucumcari’s 2nd Street and Main looking east (early 1900s), Tucumcari and Quay County Then and Now Photos and Memories Facebook Group.
Walk down a street, listen to the stories, take a closer look and experience Tucumcari’s incredible past like never before.
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MainStreet’s History Alive programs bring Tucumcari’s vibrant and fascinating history to life through a variety of experiences, including history walking tours, engaging presentations, and virtual tours. These program experiences help preserve, share, and celebrate the stories that make Tucumcari’s past so incredible.
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These adventures include walks, special events, or bus tours that allow you to step back in time into Tucumcari’s amazing, often “rowdy” Wild West past. Listen to the stories, see the images and experience the rich history. Each year in October tours are offered taking you on an adventure to experience a unique time in area history and meet a few incredible people along the way.
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This program, originally a radio only accessible audio tour, is being redesigned. Later in 2026/early 2027, you will be able to listen online to stories about the history of buildings, the people and businesses as you tour Tucumcari.
If you are a current Talking Tour business or interested in becoming one, please complete the form and submit. We will follow-up with you.
History Adventure Tours
Route 66 Adventures Abound in October! First see the movie and then take the tour!
First, see the historical documentary, Route 66 Mainstreet of America” at the historic Odeon Theatre and then, the next weekend, take your own historic adventure, all happening the first 2 weekends in October in Tucumcari!
Movie Showtime: Oct. 3, 6 pm @ Odeon in Tucumcari
This powerfully moving feature-length documentary brings you out on the road, spanning the 2,400 miles of this legendary highway. An immersive, heartfelt centennial portrait emerges, sharing unforgettable stories of the everyday heroes and enduring towns we meet along the way.
2026 Haunting the Mother Road: Stories, Spirits & History from Tucumcari’s Route 66
Tour Dates: Oct. 9 & 10, 6 pm @ the Depot
The next weekend take your own adventure ride for this year’s historic tour as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Route 66 and Tucumcari’s exciting history on the Mother Road.
Experience the history of some of Tucumcari’s most iconic motels and businesses while hearing stories about the amazing pioneers, innovative entrepreneurs, and colorful characters who helped shape Tucumcari into one of the most well-known towns along this historic road.
As you travel down Route 66, keep watch beneath the neon lights—you never know what spirits may still haunt the paths of the Mother Road!
Past Adventure Tours:
2024 Ghosts of the Old West: Cowboy Campfire Tales
Back in 2024, we gathered around the campfire sharing history and old tales focussing around the 200 year anniversary of Bell Ranch and the surrounding area.
The incredible and historically influential Bell Ranch, located north of Tucumcari, originated from a Mexican land grant held by Pablo Montoya in 1824.
This 2023 History Alive walking adventure noted Tucumcari’s connection to the bestseller and movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Listen to Bunny Terry’s “I Love New Mexico” podcast about the History Alive Walks, Alex Street, and more on Tucumcari!
2023 The Hauntings of Alex Street Walking Tour
Former sheriff, mayor and a founder of Tucumcari, Alex Street made a name for himself as one of the “Nerviest of Investigators” of his time. From outlaw stakeouts on the old frontier territorial cattle trails, to an undercover federal agent in the legendary Oklahoma Osage murders and senior investigator in the brutal slaying of student Henrietta Schmerler on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Arizona, among many others, Street made his mark as an unconventional lawman of the West, comparable to the likes of Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp.
The little eastern New Mexico settlement Street helped found, known in the early days as “Six Shooter Siding” and later called Tucumcari, was described as getting its wild beginnings on the prairie in the early 1900s fully outfitted with “slab shacks, tent saloons, clanking locomotives, howling men and painted ladies.”
