Abandoned Towns
Aerial view of Seama: homes on dirt streets at the foot of a mesa, with the paved village road curving east past the Rio San Jose

On Route 66

Seama

One of the six villages of the Pueblo of Laguna, in the Rio San Jose valley a mile south of Route 66. It lost its post office in 1932, and about 480 people live here today. The Pueblo sets the rules for visitors, and photography is generally not allowed.

35°02′22″N 107°31′28″W · ≈5,970 ft

Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).

Pueblo of Laguna · no photos without permission

Seama is a lived-in village on the land of the Pueblo of Laguna, and the Pueblo decides who may visit and where. New Mexico's tourism department says tribal communities are open to the public at their discretion and asks visitors to call ahead; the Pueblo's office is at (505) 552-6654. Photography, sketching and audio or video recording are generally not allowed on Laguna land. You may ask village officials whether permission can be given for a limited area. Homes are private, and kivas, ceremonial rooms and cemeteries are for Pueblo members only.

Overview

A Laguna village on the Rio San Jose

Seama lies in the valley of the Rio San Jose at the western edge of the Pueblo of Laguna's land, at the foot of a mesa on the south bank of the river. The Pueblo places it 10 miles west of the village of Laguna and one mile south of Historic Route 66. It is one of Laguna's six villages, with Laguna, Mesita, Paguate, Paraje and Encinal. Its neighbors are Cubero to the north, Paraje to the east, and the Acoma Pueblo villages of North and South Acomita to the west.

The Spanish called the area Cañada de la Cruz, the ravine of the cross, for the place where a side valley meets the Rio San Jose; the 1978 USGS map still names that valley Cañada de Cruz, running north to the river at the village. A post office named Seama opened in 1905 and closed in 1932, and the village had a government Indian school and a medical center. The people of Seama built St. Ann Church with a Franciscan priest, and it was dedicated on July 26, 1924, the feast day the village still keeps.

Seama appears on ghost town lists, and it is very much alive: 478 people lived here at the 2020 census, up from 333 in 2000. It is a Pueblo village, governed by the Pueblo of Laguna, and visitors come on the Pueblo's terms. This guide has no photographs of it, because the Pueblo generally doesn't allow photography on its land.

Timeline

Post office, church and highway

  1. The Spanish name the area Cañada de la Cruz, the ravine of the cross, for the way a side valley meets the Rio San Jose.
  2. A post office named Seama opens.
  3. St. Ann Church, built by the people of Seama with Father Fridolin Schuster, is dedicated. July 26 remains the village's feast day.
  4. Route 66 is laid along the old road linking Albuquerque, Laguna and Grants. West of Laguna it runs into the village of Cubero, north of Seama.
  5. The post office closes.
  6. The "Cubero cutoff" moves Route 66 around the north side of Mount Cubero, on the line of today's NM 124. Laguna remains the one pueblo travelers can see from the highway.
  7. The USGS Cubero sheet shows Seama as a cluster of buildings with a cemetery on the south bank of the Rio San Jose.
  8. Cibola County is split from Valencia County, and Seama is in the new county.
  9. The census counts 333 people in the Seama area.
  10. The census counts 478.

The Pueblo's rules

Visiting a Laguna village

Seama is home to its residents and part of a sovereign Pueblo, and the Pueblo of Laguna governs access to it. The Pueblo's website invites people to experience Laguna by visiting in person. It does not post rules for visitors, so these come from the state tourism department and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

Call first. Tribal communities and events on tribal land are open to the public at the community's discretion, and schedules can change suddenly, New Mexico's tourism department says. The Pueblo of Laguna's office is at 22 Capital Road in Laguna, (505) 552-6654.

No photography without permission. Photography, sketching and audio or video taping are generally not allowed on Laguna land. You can ask village officials whether permission can be granted for a limited scope or area. The cultural center adds that some Pueblos prohibit photography at all times.

Homes and sacred places. The homes are private. Kivas, ceremonial rooms and cemeteries are sacred and restricted to Pueblo members. On feast days and other public observances, visitors enter a home only by invitation. Observe any sign marking an area off limits.

Feast days. Each Laguna village keeps its own feast day; Seama's, at St. Ann Church, is July 26. On September 19 all the villages celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph. Check with the Pueblo before planning a visit around either.

A mile to the north

Route 66 through Laguna land

When Route 66 was numbered in 1926, it followed the old road that linked Albuquerque with Laguna, Grants and Gallup, and it crossed the heart of the Pueblo's land. TheRoute-66.com says the 1926 road went straight into the old village of Cubero, north of Seama. In 1937 a new alignment, the Cubero cutoff, carried the highway around the north side of Mount Cubero instead, on the line of today's NM 124. After the same year's realignment took Route 66 away from Santa Fe, Laguna was the one pueblo travelers could still see from the highway.

The 1962 USGS sheet shows US 66 swinging north through Cubero, with Seama just south of the Santa Fe railroad below it. Interstate 40 now crosses the Seama area, and exit 104 serves the village. The Pueblo describes the village as one mile south of Historic US 66.

From above

The village on the map

Seama sits where the paved village road, BIA Route 24, curves along the south bank of the Rio San Jose below a mesa. Its homes spread over dirt streets to the south and west.

The 1957 USGS Cubero sheet below shows Seama as a tight cluster of buildings with a cemetery at its southwest edge, the Rio San Jose to the north, and a smaller settlement labeled Philadelphia to the east. The 1978 sheet adds I-40 and names Seama Mesa and the Cañada de Cruz. The 1883 sheet marks no village here, only the railroad along the San Jose River with Cubero station and Cubero village to the north.

  • St. Ann Church (1924)
  • Homes of the village
  • Cemetery (members only)
  • Rio San Jose
  • BIA Route 24
  • Historic US 66 (NM 124), a mile north
USGS topographic map of Seama on the Rio San Jose, with Indian Service Route 24 running east and a mesa to the west
USGS The National Map, topo. Seama at center, with Hunter Road and Deer Dancer Road running south. The Rio San Jose and the Paraje Irrigation Ditch cross the top, Indian Service Route 24 runs east toward Philadelphia, and a mesa rises to the west.
Aerial view of Seama: houses on dirt streets, a paved road curving along the green river corridor, and ponds at lower right
Aerial imagery, closer in. Houses spread along dirt streets below the mesa. The paved road curves past the green line of the Rio San Jose, and square ponds sit at lower right.

Historic maps

Seama on USGS maps, 1883–1978

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Seama, 1883
Mt Taylor sheet, 1883, 1:250,000 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

Seama is just south of I-40 at exit 104, about 25 miles east of Grants and 56 miles west of Albuquerque. Leave the interstate at exit 104 and follow BIA Route 24 south into the village. This is Laguna land: call the Pueblo before you go, and don't photograph without permission.

USGS topographic map of I-40 from Grants east to the Seama area, with the Continental Divide Trail and NM 124 near the interstate

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From central Grants24.6 miabout 30 min
  1. From central Grants, follow San Jose Drive and 5th Street to Historic Route 66.0.5 mi
  2. Turn right on Historic Route 66 (Santa Fe Avenue, I-40 Business) to I-40.2.8 mi
  3. Take I-40 east.19.7 mi
  4. Take exit 104 and turn right onto Road 124 (BIA Route 24).0.5 mi
  5. At the end of the road, turn left on Indian Service Route 24 into Seama.1.0 mi
  6. Turn right into the village.0.1 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and safety notes

  • I-40 exit 104 serves Seama. Historic Route 66, now NM 124, runs north of the interstate.
  • Seama and its roads are on Pueblo of Laguna land. Call the Pueblo at (505) 552-6654 before visiting.
  • Don't photograph, sketch or record in the village without the Pueblo's permission, and stay out of areas signed off limits.
  • Fuel, food and lodging are in Grants.

Photos

Have photos of Seama?

We haven’t added photographs of Seama yet. If you’ve visited, share your photos and a field report below.

The Pueblo of Laguna generally doesn't allow photography, sketching or recording on its land. Please send only photographs taken with the permission of village officials.

Visitor reports

Been to Seama?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

Nearby

Other sites near Seama

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our New Mexico index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Seama": fact sheet fields (county as Valencia, road, climate, best time, remains), the 1905–1932 post office, the location south of US 66 near Cubero, the name Cañada de la Cruz and its meaning, the government Indian school and medical center.
  2. Wikipedia, "Seama, New Mexico", retrieved October 2026: the census-designated place, its neighbors, the Rio San Jose, I-40 exit 104, the 2000 and 2020 censuses.
  3. Pueblo of Laguna, home page and contact page, retrieved October 24, 2026: the six villages, the invitation to visit, the office address and phone.
  4. Pueblo of Laguna, "Seama Church", retrieved October 24, 2026: St. Ann Church, its builders, its dedication on July 26, 1924, the feast day, and Seama's place 10 miles west of Laguna and one mile south of Historic US 66.
  5. New Mexico Tourism Department, "Laguna Pueblo", retrieved October 24, 2026: the photography, sketching and recording rule, asking village officials, opening at the community's discretion, calling ahead, the September 19 feast.
  6. Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, "Visiting a Pueblo", retrieved October 24, 2026: permits and bans on photography, private homes, kivas, ceremonial rooms and cemeteries for members only, feast-day invitations, off-limits signs.
  7. TheRoute-66.com, "Route 66 in Laguna NM" and "Route 66 in Cubero NM", retrieved October 2026: the 1926 road through Laguna lands, the 1926–37 road into Cubero, the 1937 Cubero cutoff on NM 124, Laguna as the one pueblo visible from the highway after 1937.
  8. Wikipedia, "Cibola County, New Mexico": the county created from Valencia County on June 19, 1981.
  9. USGS historical topographic maps: Mt Taylor 1:250,000 (1883), Cubero 1:24,000 (1957), Albuquerque 1:250,000 (1962), Grants 1:100,000 (1978). Village point: OpenStreetMap. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026. Not field-checked.

Photo and map credits