New Santa Fe, also known as Little Santa Fe, was little more than an Indian settlement when the first wagon trains passed through on the Santa Fe Trail in the early 1820s. Because it offered grass, water, and room for camping, it became a popular stopping place and later a wagon train outfitting station on the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails. Originally called Blue Camp 20 for its location near the Little Blue River and about 20 miles from Independence, Missouri, the town became an important link between Independence and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Incorporated in 1852, New Santa Fe, Missouri, had a population of 670 according to the 1860 census. Early inhabitants on the Kansas-Missouri border struggled for survival amid sporadic border skirmishes and the aftereffects of the Civil War. The cemetery remains, along with a small portion of the foundation of the Santa Fe Christian Church, and wagon swales are still visible in and around the cemetery.
