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Press Kit
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Old Mesilla
Only minutes south of Las Cruces lies one of the most historic towns in the Southwest, La Mesilla, New Mexico. Mesilla did not become part of the United States until the mid-1850s, but its history begins with the close of the Mexican American War, and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe. Soon after, the sleepy border town would become one of the most important towns in the West, playing a key role in western expansion.
 When the United States entered into the Treaty of Guadalupe in 1848, they gained control over Texas, New Mexico, and Upper California, setting the Mexican-American border at Rio Grande River. To many people who had lived their entire lives as Mexican citizens, the idea of becoming Americans did not sit well and many moved across the Rio Grande back into Mexico. They settled on a small hill and founded the town of La Mesilla.
By the mid-1850s, Mesilla had established itself as an instrumental town in the transportation of passengers and goods around the Southwest. The Mexican town prospered as it became one of the only places travelers could stop, rest, and get supplies, no matter which direction they were heading. But when the Gadsden Purchase was ratified in 1854, the small town would again fall under the authority of the United States as the U.S. gained control of nearly 30,000 square miles of northern Mexico, southern Arizona and New Mexico. By the mid-1800s, Mesilla’s population had reached 3,000, making it the largest town and trade center between San Antonio and San Diego, and an important stop for both the Butterfield Stage Line and the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Lines.
Around the plaza, fine hotels and restaurants were built to accommodate the influx of travelers and new residents. Drove-muleteers and miners traveling between El Paso, Santa Fe, and mining companies in the Gila and San Andres Mountains, regularly purchased supplies in Mesilla, prompting wholesalers from as far away as San Antonio and St. Louis to advertise in Mesilla newspapers. The town was also frequented by Apache Indians, who regularly attacked, stealing livestock, food and taking captives.
 But the Apaches were not the only ones to invade Mesilla. During the 1850s, Confederate troops invaded the small town, taking control and declaring it the capital of the Arizona Territory of the Confederate States of the America. Headquarters were set up in what is currently the Fountain Theatre and although some residents supported the Confederate cause, the town continued to celebrate its Mexican heritage. The broad mix of political views and cultures often resulted in riots and shootouts, quite a contrast to the fiestas, dances and fairs residents were accustomed to.
Mesilla continued to grow and prosper until the early 1880s when the Santa Fe Railroad selected nearby Las Cruces instead of Mesilla for the location of their newest route. Mesilla landowners resented the railroad’s assumption that local residents whould help build the line, prompting Las Cruces businessmen to persuade the railroad giant northward. With attention now focused on Las Cruces, Mesilla’s appeal and importance began to disappear. To this day, its size and population are virtually the same as they were 120 years ago.
But the coming of the railroad brought with it its own set of problems to the area. Workers consumed huge quantities of beef, placing city officials at the mercy of cattle rustlers. Gunfights often broke out in the streets of both Las Cruces and Mesilla, and criminals like Nicolas Provencio, and Dutch Hubert were regulars in both towns. Even western outlaw William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, - a frequent visitor of both towns - was tried and convicted for murder in a Mesilla courtroom. It was said that during sentencing the judge told Billy he would hang until he was “dead, dead, dead,” to which Billy replied, “well you can go to hell, hell, hell.” Billy was later shot and killed by Lincoln County Sheriff Pat, Garrett, after he escaped from a Lincoln County jail cell where he was awaiting execution.
 Today, visitors won’t find wild gunfights or riots on Mesilla’s streets, rather they can visit a new generation of Mesilla residents. Where a stagecoach depot, saloon, courthouse and hotel once stood, you now find restaurants, art galleries, bookstores, and shops. On some weekends, the plaza plays host to festivals and events like Cinco de Mayo, Diez y Seis de Septiembre and Dia de los Muertos, all celebrating the town’s heritage and colorful past. During the holiday season, the plaza is aglow with luminarias and filled with the sounds of carolers. Visitors can also see the San Albino Church, built from adobe over 100 years ago, or the Gadsden Museum, a local landmark recounting the area’s rich history. And just down the street, shoppers can find the latest addition to Mesilla, the Mercado de Mesilla, featuring a range of merchants, vendors and restaurants.
Efforts to preserve the town’s rich history, culture, and architecture have made Mesilla one of the best known and most visited historic communities in southern New Mexico. Year-round, you can experience all the intrigue and independence this historic village has to offer.
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 Bataan Death March Memorial
Entangled in one another's arms, three soldiers stand in eternal tribute to the 70,000 men that braved the treacherous journey over 60 years ago. These larger-than-life bronze statues represent the oft-forgotten American and Filipino soldiers who hiked the Bataan Peninsula, the 50,000 who survived, and the thousands of others who did not.
The memorial, “Heroes of Bataan,” located in Veterans Park in Las Cruces, New Mexico, is the country’s first federally funded monument honoring American and Filipino veterans of the Bataan Death March. The monument was dedicated on April 13, 2002, marking the 60th anniversary of the Death March and one of the most brutal chapters in American military history.
In New Mexico alone, hundreds of men from over 300 communities fought to defend the Philippines during WW II. They were members of the 200th Coast Artillery Anti-Aircraft units of the New Mexico National Guard. Many surviving family members still reside in southern New Mexico.
As part of the commemoration, the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department dedicated a portion of U.S. Highway 70 from Las Cruces, to Alamogordo, NM as the Bataan Memorial Highway. The stretch of road “honors the battling bastards of Bataan and the many sacrifices made by New Mexicans during one of the most infamous events of WWII.”
Artist Kelley S. Hestir, who was commissioned to create the monument, said “'Heroes of Bataan' portrays Filipino and American prisoners of war entwined in their struggle to survive the Death March. They look back to what has passed, down to what is present and ahead to what might be.” The many footprints which surround the statue are symbolic of the many soldiers who began the march and the few who finished. The impressions were made from the feet of those who survived."
The idea to honor those who participated in the Bataan Death March originated in the late 1990’s. While meeting with New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici, Las Cruces businessman J. Joe Martinez mentioned the Death March and how it was often overlooked. Domenici agreed and plans to build a memorial ensued. Martinez - whose uncles John and Joe were prisoners of the Japanese army during World War II and at one time presumed dead - became the inspiration behind the memorial.
Two of the soldiers bear the faces of Martinez’ uncles, while the third face is that of Command Sergeant Major Gilbert L. Canuela, who is stationed at White Sands Missile Range in Las Cruces. Canuela, who is of Filipino heritage, also had a family participate in the Bataan Death March.
Since the dedication of the Bataan Death March Memorial Monument in 2002, a mock march has become an annual Las Cruces event.
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 New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum
Agriculture was a part of New Mexico’s past long before Billy the Kid or the Santa Fe Trail. Now, thanks to the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, visitors can relive the history and heritage that has made New Mexico the state it is today.
As the largest agriculture museum in the United States, the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum opened in 1998 to retell New Mexico’s 3,000 year-old agricultural history. Staffed primarily by expert volunteers, the museum sits on 47 acres of land, with over 25,000 square-feet of permanent and rotating exhibits, a dairy barn, farm animals, an outdoor amphitheater and an indoor theater for special programs, presentations and lectures.
Indoor museum exhibits feature ancient tools and living quarters of the first farming tribes in the state. The self-guided exhibit tour recreates the evolution of farming in New Mexico with hands on demonstrations, videos, pictures, an old-time general store, and a myriad of artifacts and memorabilia donated by New Mexico’s ranching families. All exhibit display copy is presented in English and Spanish.
Outside, visitors can meet longhorn cattle, dairy cows, goats, lambs, sheep and burros in the animal pens, or take in a live milking demonstration in the dairy barn featuring exhibits, artifacts - both old and new, and audio-video presentations about the state’s dairy industry.
The New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum is tour friendly. There is a separate group entrance equipped with a drive-through for loading and unloading and ample parking for buses and vehicles. Guests can learn the ropes with hands-on classes like southwest cooking, western roping, and saddle making.
Don’t forget to stop by the Eagle Ranch Mercantile featuring a selection of items made with pistachios grow in southern New Mexico
In March, the museum comes to life with Cowboy Days, honoring New Mexico ranchers and their heritage. The two-day event features cowboy poets, country music, dancing, western art, sculptures and roping and ranching demonstrations.
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 Stahmann Farms
Just a short 10 minute ride south of Las Cruces and visitors can find themselves immersed in a seemingly endless arbor of green and smack dab in the middle of the world’s largest family owned pecan orchard.
Stahmann Farms has not always been one of the largest pecan growers in the world. In fact, in 1926, when W. J. Stahmann, a buggy-maker from Wisconsin purchased 2,900 acres of land in the Mesilla Valley, he was set on growing cotton. He and his son, Deane, cleared the land and planted acres of cotton. The Stahmanns experimented with different types of cotton and even set up research farms in Jamaica and Mexico to grow cotton year-round. And although they developed a number of new varieties of cotton still grown around the world, to this day over 70 years later, no one knows exactly why Stahmanns decided to pull out all their cotton plants and plant the first pecan trees in the valley.
What ever the reason, Deane planted over 4,000 acres of pecan trees in the early 1930s. Soon, the Stahmanns became the largest pecan producing family in the U.S. and several years later when his son planted 2,000 acres of pecans in Australia, the Stahmanns became the largest pecan producing family in the world.
Stahmanns quickly became an American success story with many Hollywood celebrities visiting every year during the 40s and 50s. The farm was even the subject of a Life Magazine feature.
Today, two varieties of pecans are harvested at Stahmann Farms, the Western Schley and the Bradley, both known for a high quality yield and a soft shell. The farm produces between eight and 10 million pounds of nuts a year from over 180,000 trees, about 48 trees per acre. The farm uses virtually no chemical insecticides, relying on green and black aphids living in the bushes and weeds to control the natural predators.
Unlike many years ago, today’s pecan harvesting is a highly mechanized operation. After the fields have been cleared of weeds, grass and brush, machines known as shakers hold and shake specific branches causing all of the nuts to fall from the tree. Next, sweeping machines form rows of nuts ready for the harvester to pick them up.
The pecans are then taken to the cleaning house where up to a quarter of a million pounds of nuts are processed each day during the annual harvest. After all the debris has been removed, metal brushes peel off any remaining hull still on the nuts, and then they are sorted by size. Once sorted and cracked, the pecans are mechanically separated to weed out only the best quality nuts. They are then stored and ready to be shelled.
Stahmanns products range from items as simple as a can of roasted or un-roasted pecans, to fancy holiday gift baskets. Stahmanns also produces a variety of pecan candy, which is manufactured at an on-site candy factory. Tours of the factory are available during the non-harvest season.
Products are available via mail order year-round and can even be found on the QVC home shopping network. Stahmanns even has an on-site store complete with pecan products and an assortment of books and other items reflecting the history of farm and ranch life in New Mexico.
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The Artists and their work
Las Cruces’ exciting history and rich culture have always been an inspiration for local artists. Las Cruces and Mesilla have over 40 art galleries and studios, with collections honoring the history, heritage and landscape of southern New Mexico.
The New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum offers visitors a chance to relive New Mexico’s 3,000-year-old agricultural history. Museum exhibits feature ancient tools, artifacts, and living quarters dating back to the first farming tribes in the state. Outside, check out longhorn cattle, sheep and donkeys, or visit the dairy barn for more history about the dairy industry in New Mexico.
The Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum provides a tremendous amount of local and regional history, but if 3,000 years is not far enough back, then stop by the Museum of Natural History in the Mesilla Valley Mall. Here, visitors can explore the history of the earth and the sky with exhibits and activities for adults and children.
The New Mexico State University Museum features rotating exhibits focusing on the social and natural sciences, humanities and folk arts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Other area museums include the Las Cruces Museum of Fine Arts, featuring artwork from some of Las Cruces’ finest artists, and historical photos and artifacts chronicling the valley’s past. Located next to the Fine Arts & Culture Museum is the Branigan Cultural Center, also displaying a variety of artwork and artifacts crafted by local artisans.
Around town, art lovers can find many private and commercial galleries and studios, displaying the talent and creativity of Las Cruces and Mesilla artists. Las Cruces’ commercial galleries include the Mesilla Valley Fine Art Gallery, displaying southwestern landscapes, still lifes, paintings, photography, and pottery, and the New Mexico State University Art Gallery in Williams Hall, often considered the largest contemporary art gallery in southern New Mexico with one of the worlds largest collections of Mexican retablos. Other university galleries include the Corbett Center Gallery specializing in the work of graduate and undergraduate students, and the Zuhl Collection, home to over $400,000 worth of prehistoric fossils.
Beginning in the spring, the Cinco de Mayo festival is held every year on the Historic Old Mesilla Plaza. To commemorate Mexico’s second revolution, merchants, vendors and patrons crowd the plaza spending two days dancing, eating and listening to music and honoring the sacrifices their ancestors made. And again in September, the plaza comes alive as commemoration of Mexico’s independence once again draws people to celebrate with traditional Mexican Mariachis, food and dancing during the Diez y Seis de Septiembre Fiesta.
Keeping pace with its sister to the south, Las Cruces also hosts several annual festivals and events that cover a range of themes. For two days every January, the Wells Fargo Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally fills the skies over southern New Mexico with over 90 unique and colorful hot-air balloons.
In April, visitors can listen to the area’s finest jazz, and sample the many varieties of wine from New Mexico’s oldest winery, La Viņa, during the annual La Viņa Wine & Jazz Thing. Also, in April, Frontier Day at Fort Selden State Monument, pays tribute to the fort and its past soldiers with reenactments and demonstrations by staff and volunteers. The spring season concludes with the Southern New Mexico Wine Festival featuring many of the state’s wines and winerys.
The fall festival season begins with the Hatch Chile, Hillsboro Apple and New Mexico Wine Harvest Festivals, all held on Labor Day weekend. These diverse events give visitors a chance to experience southern New Mexico spirit up and down the Rio Grande with each event located less than an hour from one another.
The fall season wraps up with the Southern New Mexico State Fair and the Whole Enchilada Fiesta. Recognized by the American Bus Association as one of the top 100 events in North America in 2000, the Whole Enchilada Fiesta brings people together to enjoy music, food, rides and watch the making of the largest enchilada in the world – according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Following the Whole Enchilada Fiesta is the La Viņa Wine Festival, and Cowboy Days held at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum.
The Renaissance ArtsFaire held the first weekend of November, focuses on a juried art show, artisan booths, music, dance and theatrical performances along with food and craft vendors, all presented in a Renaissance theme. And the International Mariachi Conference and Concert brings in internationally known mariachi performers from around the world.
Whether visitors are interested in museums, galleries, art or events, there is something for everyone. Las Cruces offers the chance to experience traditional New Mexican culture combined with an enjoyable relaxing environment perfect for all visitors
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Golf
Nestled in warm southern New Mexico, Las Cruces is home to exciting championship style golf at amateur prices, adding one more way to enjoy our 350 days of sunshine a year.
Local courses take advantage of many desert characteristics, forcing golfers to steer clear of tricky desert brush and unforgiving desert rough. At almost 4,000 feet above sea level, golf balls travel farther, sometimes bringing into play unexpected obstacles that can require some creative shot making.
New Mexico State University Golf Course is one of southern New Mexico’s finest public golf courses. The 18-hole par 72 layout challenges golfers with fairways and greens that blend seamlessly with the natural desert landscape, and the rugged peaks of the Organ Mountains provide a breathtaking backdrop to the course. Sonoma Ranch includes a full service restaurant and practice facility. The course was also nominated for “Best New Course” in 2000 by Golf Digest.
Las Cruces’ longest course is the New Mexico State University Golf Course. Measuring in at over 7,000 yards (from the blue tees) this 18-hole course takes golfers on a scenic journey of challenging greens and fairways, framed by roughs of native desert landscape. As the only university in New Mexico and one of the few in the nation to offer the Professional Golf Management program (PGM), NMSU is also one of the most challenging public courses in the state. Views of the Organ Mountains and plush Mesilla Valley cap off every round. In addition to practice facilities, there is a pro shop, snack bar and traveling beverage cart. The course is also home to the NMSU Aggie men’s & women’s golf teams, and has hosted three NCAA Championships as well as numerous high school and regional championships.
The oldest course in the city is the Las Cruces Country Club course built in 1928. The semi-private course offers 18 holes of competitive golf on bent-grass fairways and greens. The club offers auxiliary memberships and features a full service restaurant, pro shop and practice facilities.
Picacho Hills Country Club is the only private membership course in the city and offers reciprocal agreements with others clubs. The 18-hole par 72 layout was built in 1978 and features bent-grass tees and greens, and bluegrass fairways. The desert style course is located on the city’s west side, only minutes from downtown Las Cruces. The private club also has practice facilities, tennis courts, a swimming pool and full-service clubhouse with restaurant.
In addition to the fine courses Las Cruces has to offer, there are several courses located only a short distance away. Dos Lagos Golf Course, Santa Teresa Country Club & Golf Course and Anthony Country Club Golf Course are all about 30 minutes south of Las Cruces.
Desert Lakes Golf Course is a public course in Alamogordo, N.M., about an hour east of Las Cruces. And about 30 minutes east of Alamogordo is the Lodge at Cloudcroft Golf Course in Cloudcroft, N.M. This nine-hole public mountain course is only open April through November.
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