Las Cruces, New Mexico 1849-1999: A Multicultural Crossroads

Las Cruces, New Mexico: Red Sky Publishing Co., Inc., 1999. Second Printing . Trade Paperback. Near Fine. 6" x 9. 244 Pages Indexed. Author four-line inscription Best Wishes 12/99. No other marks or stamps to this otherwise brand new book with flawless interior text pages. Illustrated throughout with 49 photographs, maps, and drawings. This book is about the events which transformed a desert crossroads into southern New Mexico's largest city. It is important to recognize the role of such diverse factors as Mexican land grants, border disputes and treaties, the Civil War, floods, arrival of the railroad and telegraph, and the establishment of what became New Mexico State University. To those significant 19th century shaping events must be added the 20th century's building of Elephant Butte Dam and the consequent agricultural greening of the Mesilla Valley, the great depression, World Wars I and II, the establishment of White Sands Proving Ground, and even urban renewal. The greater emphasis will be on those individuals, families, events and forces which have produced the cosmopolitan population and culture of the City of the Crosses. Contents: List of Illustrations, Preface, Foreword , Map, Pioneering Cultures, Pioneering Communities, Civil War, The Railroad and Stability, Education, Law Order and Statehood, Water And The Butte, Banking And Growth, Successful Families, The Proving Ground, Renewal, and The Fabulous Future. Plus Appendices: Dona Ana County Sheriffs, Mayors of Las Cruces, Population Statistics - Las Cruces, New Mexico State University Enrollments, Town Survey & Recording 1849, Presidents of N.M.S.U., Company A New Mexico National Guard 1916, WW II Philippine Fatalities, Historical Society Hall of Fame, and Sources.