Originating as a small farming village in the 1850s, it is one of the city's oldest neighborhoods and retains a distinct character, with winding streets, irregular lots, and adobe vernacular buildings reminiscent of other old Hispanic communities in northern New Mexico.

Historically, Martineztown and Santa Barbara were separate communities, though today they are generally considered to form a single neighborhood.

The northeastern part of the neighborhood includes two large cemeteries as well as Albuquerque High School, while several blocks in the southeast corner are occupied by Lovelace Medical Center.

Separated from Old Town by marshlands, the area was accessible via the Old Carnuel Trail (now Mountain Road) and a section of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro called El Camino del Lado (Side Road) which skirted the Rio Grande valley floor.

[6] The development of Martineztown accelerated after the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway reached Albuquerque in 1880, and much of the present neighborhood dates from this period.

City leaders viewed the low-income, mostly Hispanic area as blighted and believed the land could be better used as an extension of Downtown.

Longfellow serves students who live south of Interstate 40, while those to the north attend Cochiti Elementary.