Pojoaque, though still listed among the Indian villages of New Mexico, is no longer populated by Indians. Two missions were established at Pojoaque in the early Spanish days, the first shortly after 1600. This was destroyed in the rebellion in 1680. Later, in 1706, a new church was constructed which is still in use. The Indian population of Pojoaque was gradually reduced until, in 1900, the few remaining families abandoned the village. Since that time, Spanish-American families have occupied the buildings. It is a picturesque village seldom seen, for it is hidden from the passing tourist by a hill. Yet some of the buildings in this ancient village date back to pre-Coronado times and are a significant part of the romance of New Mexico.
Sandia Pueblo is a remnant of the Tiguex villages visited by Coronado in 1540. A mission was created at Sandia shortly after the colonization by Oñate, and it was an important mission center until the Pueblo Revolt. After the revolt, Sandia peoples scattered rather than again submit to Spanish control. Many of them went to live with the Hopi and there founded the village of Payupki on the middle mesa, the walls of which can still be found. After 62 years, in 1742, a few families returned to the Rio Grande Valley to found the modern pueblo. The old mission remains visible, although reduced to a rubble of adobe. Sandia Pueblo remains a small village, containing less than 150 people.
San Felipe is one of the most conservative of the pueblos and has retained much of its Indian heritage despite the impact of Spanish and American influences. It has a close affinity with its neighbors, particularly Santo Domingo only five miles distant. San Felipe was a well-established village when the Spanish first arrived. Its people joined in heartily when the pueblo uprising began in 1680 but abandoned their village during a Spanish counteroffensive in 1681 (which failed). When reconquest was completed in 1692, the people returned to their village. Thereafter, they remained friendly to the Spanish and suffered many attacks from the Navajo, who hated them for this loyalty.
One of the finest remaining structures showing early Franciscan mission architecture can be seen at the San Felipe church. The present church is not the original mission, for three different churches were located at San Felipe over the centuries. The first was built in 1605 and destroyed during the Pueblo Revolt. The second was built in a new part of the village in 1694, but shortly after 1700, the village was moved and a new church constructed. The latter church is the one now in use at San Felipe. On May 1, the nearly 1000 people of the pueblo celebrate their annual fiesta.