The Village grew up around the 45-room "castle" built by Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946), artist, author, scientist, and one of America's greatest naturalists. Seton was chairman of the committe that brought the Boy Scout movement to the United States; he served a Chief Scout and wrote the first Scout manual.

Seton Village was purchased in 2002 by the Academy for the Love of Learning. The landmark is currently not open to the public as Seton Castle is in the process being restored; and the grounds are being cleared of years of rubbish, broken glass, and fallen wooden structures. In 2003, the Academy for the Love of Learning, Seton Village, received a Save America’s Treasures Grant in the amount of $330,000. The Academy plans to have the restoration of Seton Castle completed and open to the public in early 2006. While the Landmark is not open at this time, there is a website with information about it: www.aloveoflearning.org.

The new owners have hired the Santa Fe firm of Spears Architects to direct and design the restoration of Seton Castle. They are working with the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office as well as the National Park Service to meet Section 106 regulations. Since September of 2003, the contents of Seton Castle have been archived. The collection consists of paintings, sketches, artifacts and books. Through the end of May 2004, the Academy had archived over 300 artifacts and over 2,000 books, including dozens of books written by Seton. Also included in this archive is a collection of books dating back to the 1600’s and an extensive collection of books on Native American and Southwest History.

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