House at Otowi Bridge

"Otowi" comes from the Tewa word p’otsuivi, “gap where water sinks.” It's an appropriate moniker for the area, located along the Rio Grande at the head of White Rock Canyon. In 1886, a station and bridge were built here for the Chili Line, a narrow-gauge that ran from Antonito, CO to Santa Fe.

In 1923, a post office was built here to serve the Los Alamos Ranch School. In 1928, Edith Warner, a former teacher, was hired to manage the station. She came looking for solitude, but her little station soon became a gathering place for visitors near and far, including nuclear physicists working on the Manhattan Project.