A haunting history: Old Town is home to Albuquerque's beginnings and a few ghosts

Editor’s note: The Journal continues “What’s in a Name?,” a once a month column in which Elaine Briseño will give a short history of how places in New Mexico got their names.

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are finally dropping. Some people call it fall.

Some people (It’s me. I’m some people.) call it spooky season. What better place to find some haunts than Old Town – the birthplace of Albuquerque.

Old Town Albuquerque is situated around a plaza. Its immediate surroundings include quaint shops, residences and the historic San Felipe de Neri Church.

Albuquerque was founded in 1706 by the Spanish Governor of New Mexico Francisco Cuervo Y Valdéz as a Spanish colonial town. It’s no surprise that the city was established with the plaza as its center. Plazas were the core of community life in Spain at the time. The historical Plaza Mayor in Madrid dates back to 1619 and is a draw to this day. Meanwhile, many of the buildings in Old Town have survived for centuries.

One of those structures now serves as the Church Street Cafe. It is not only home to great New Mexican food, but it’s also said to house a cranky ghost. The current owner has embraced the reputation. The restaurant’s website features a “ghost” tab that explores its ongoing relationship with the other side. The naming of the cafe was pretty simple. It’s a reflection of the street on which it sits. However, that’s not all there is to the story.

Back then, naming places and streets was a simplified, practical process with little thought to being creative. The names were related to the families that lived there, or the function of the road or its location.

Hence, how the street home to the cafe got its name. It pays homage to the historic and visually stunning San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church on the north side of the plaza. The cafe sits directly behind the church to the north.

It also goes by the name Casa de Ruiz in a tribute to the family that built and owned it until 1991, when its final resident, Rufina G. Ruiz died at the age of 91. The house was built in the early 1700s, but there are no public records about the family. The earliest identified descendants are Julianna Lucero and her husband Francisco Ruiz, who were born about 1834. Their daughter Sara Ruiz was born in 1880 and was the mother of Rufina. Sara is also said to be the restaurant’s resident ghost who is known to throw silverware, slam doors and hide keys, according to the restaurant website.

Eating a meal there does feel like dining inside a home. There are several different-sized rooms, some that were obviously bedrooms at one point. It’s one of the many establishments that gives Old Town its charm.

However, that part of the city wasn’t always called Old Town. It was once simply just called Albuquerque. There was no need to designate a new and old town because there was only one part of town.

Old Town is home to Albuquerque's beginnings and a few ghosts

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Families established homesteads outside the city proper along the river to farm the land, but the plaza and surrounding area remained the center of commercial activity. Albuquerque became a tale of two cities when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad tracks officially reached Albuquerque on April 10, 1880.

The lure of incoming passengers led to the establishment of shops, lodging and other commercial ventures. The bustling center was christened New Town and what was once just called Albuquerque, became Old Town. Albuquerque no longer has one new and one old part, but the name stuck around and so did many of the original buildings from its beginnings, giving it the cultural significance it has today.

Cody Polston, the founder of the Southwest Ghost Hunters Association, has written several books detailing ghost lore around the state. His book “Ghosts of Old Town Albuquerque” explores its haunted history. Among the other Old Town locations and buildings rumored to be haunted are The Bottger Mansion at 110 San Felipe St., which operates as a bed and breakfast and is named for the rich family that once occupied it. The historic house is steps away from Old Town’s charming shops and restaurants, and a stay there certainly provides a glimpse of what life was like for its former residents.

Charles Bottger owned a saloon west of the mansion, which is now a parking lot. Elvis Presley is said to have stayed there in 1955. Infamous criminal Machine Gun Kelly holed up there with his girlfriend under an assumed name as he fled from the law.

If one were able to legally dig around Old Town today, they most likely would uncover some bones. Back in the day, most communities did not have public cemeteries. The dead were buried either on family land or underneath their local church. Old Town Albuquerque was no exception.

New Mexican trailblazer Elena Gallegos, who once owned much of the property that is modern-day of Albuquerque via a grant in her name, is said to be laid to rest somewhere in Old Town. She lived on her land until her death in September of 1731. She was buried within the Holy Church of San Phelipe de Albuquerque, which was the first incarnation of San Felipe de Neri. It collapsed in 1792 but was relocated and rebuilt in 1793 at its current location.

ABQ Tours has been offering ghost and history strolls in Old Town for more than two decades and offers daily guided tours. And while you’re there, if you decide to refuel at Church Street Cafe, heed this advice from the cafe owners: “Before you leave, you need to tell Sara goodnight, or she might follow you home.”

Curious about how a town, street or building got its name? Email columnist Elaine Briseño at ebriseno@abqjournal.com as she continues the monthly journey in “What’s in a Name?”