Archive for the 'History' Category
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
The Telegraph Arrives in Mesilla - Feb 5, 1879
Completion of the Southern Competing
Transcontinental U. S. Mil. Tel-Line
Congratulations to All
Rates Cheaper
Oh! For Southern Competing Railroad
*******************************************
Denison Tex. 5.
Editor NEWS:
Mesilla, compliments of Denison Texas to citizens of Mesilla N. M. congratulations on completion of direct telegraphic communication over United States Military Telegraph lines.
[signed]
Blythe.
*******************************************
Mesilla N. M. 10:15 a. m. Feb. 5. ‘79
To Lt. Tengle and citizens Denison Texas:
In answer to your telegram accept congratulations of THE MESILLA NEWS and citizens of Mesilla Valley to Lieuts. Tengle and Allen and through them to Signal Service War Department, also to citizens of Denison Texas, on completion of through Southern Competing Transcontinental Telegraph line. Now for Southern competing Transcontinental Railroad.
[signed]
Ira M. Bond
Editor MESILLA NEWS
*******************************************
Denison Tex. 2 - 5.
Ed. NEWS.
Mesilla,
X.
[signed]
Herald,
Denison Tex.
*******************************************
Mesilla 5.
Herald,
Denison Tex.
Will X. — con mucho gusto,
[signed]
NEWS
*******************************************
The above were some of our telegrams sent and received on Feb. 5th [1879], the first day the through, Competing, Transcontinental United States Military Telegraph Line commenced working. The great importance of this line to the business interests of, not only the south and west, but of the whole country, for the present and future can hardly be estimated. The only thing that will surpass it will be when we get a southern competing Transcontinental Railroad, which looks now like it will be in the no distance future. Mesilla now has not only an important signal office, but is the important telegraph center of the Great Southwest. The line works like a charm from Mesilla to Denison Tex., a distance of about one thousand miles, each "click" of the instruments being as it were, simultaneous, though the difference in time being nearly an hour.
THE NEWS made proper mention at the time when Lieut. Allen completed his part of this line, 100 miles east of El Paso, so it only remained for Lieut. Tengle to complete his part in order to make a through connection.
Operator White informs us that the automatic repeaters here work to his entire satisfaction only requiring careful attention, while at Fort Concho they work the repeaters with button. A through message from Denison Texas to San Diego Cal. about 1800 miles will work through repeaters at Fort Concho, Mesilla and Tucson A. T. [Arizona Territory]. There are 80 cells now in the battery here, and batteries at Davis, Concho and Denison.
The rates for sending and receiving all telegrams for all places on the U. S. Mil. Tel. line, to the States via Tex. Route, will be about one half that it is via Santa Fe and Pueblo. Even now telegrams from Albuquerque and Santa Fe for the states are sent via Mesilla and Denison Tex.
Lieut. Allen, supt. of the New Mexico division, U. S. Mil. Tel. has now about 700 miles of line under his charge. We hope he could find it to his advantage to move Headquarters to Mesilla, as it would place him near the center of his duties, as also near the center of his line, instead of way off to one end. The work at this office is already increasing quite rapidly, and we would not be surprised if very soon 2 operators and 2 repairmen were not required at this place.
Oh! For a southern competing Transcontinental railroad. Where the benefit of the competing telegraph is felt by one, the benefits of the railroad would be felt by a thousand and a thousand fold. Come on with your Railroads from north, south, east and west if you want to carry away our millions of wealth, and give us somewhere on the Rio Grande a grand railroad center.
Mesilla News, Feb 8, 1879 (newspaper)
Links:
First Transcontinental Telegraph (Northern Route)
Telegraph History
Telegraph Virtual Museum
Friday, August 29th, 2008
The Spineless Promise
As noted in this post , Luther Burbank , "The Plant Wizard," developed the spineless cactus with the dream of providing unlimited cattle feed in arid lands. His dream excited many cattlemen, but was never realized. Here’s an article from the 1909 Mesilla/Las Cruces newspaper reflecting that hope.
The Thornless Cactus
"Too much value can not be placed on Burbank’s thornless cactus as a fodder for cattle," was the declaration made by Charles J. Welch, who has a great cattle ranch at Los Binos, in southern California.
Mr. Welch last year planted thousands of the Burbank cactus plants and says they are thriving and growing in every way, as Mr. Burbank said they would.
He and other Los Angeles men are arranging for other large shipments of this plant. Southern Pacific land commissioners are also contemplating planting large areas of Burbank cactus on desert lands along their railroad system.
– Rio Grande Republican, September 3, 1909
Tags: Spineless Cactus , Luther Burbank , History
Friday, April 25th, 2008
Mesilla Museum Display
The J. Paul Taylor Visitor Center opened this evening with a dedication ceremony featuring the Mayor of Mesilla and many Mesilla citizens. A welcome part of the opening ceremony was a display of some of the materials being collected for the Mesilla Museum, which will emphasize the history of Mesilla, including it’s role in the Billy the Kid saga.
Billy the Kid was tried in the courthouse on the Mesilla plaza in April, 1881 for two killings. He was acquitted of the killing of Andrew A. “Buckshot” Roberts, which occurred on April 4, 1878. He was convicted of the killing of Sheriff William Brady, which happened a few days before, on April 1, 1878.
The sentence for the killing of Sheriff Brady was death by hanging, to be carried out May 13, 1881. That didn’t happen, of course, because Billy the Kid escaped from the Lincoln jail 15 days before he was to be hung. The hanging was to be carried out in Lincoln because that’s where the killing of Sheriff Brady had occurred.
The most intriguing item on display this evening was the barber chair where Billy the Kid was given a haircut before his trial. The chair is privately owned and was being displayed only for the ceremony.
The chair was manufactured in the early 1870s. It was re-covered in the 1980s, before the current owner acquired it. The reupholstering covered up several bullet holes that were in the chair, of unknown origin.
The permanent display in the center includes numerous historical Mesilla photos.
Here’s a photo of the original San Albino church, which was torn down when the current church was constructed in 1908:
Here’s a photo of the consecration of the new San Albino church in 1908:
Here’s a picture of the Mesilla plaza in 1900. The first San Albino can be seen in the distance.
Here’s a picture of the Fountain Theatre taken about 1930:
Tags: Billy the Kid, History, Mesilla Plaza, Fountain Theatre, San Albino Church
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Billy the Kid Display — Mesilla
The Town of Mesilla is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the J. Paul Taylor Visitor Center Thursday, April 24 at 5:30 p.m.
As part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony there will be Billy the Kid display inside the Visitor Center. The display will feature historical photos, information and artifacts pertaining to Mesilla’s past. The subject is the historic period of April 1881, when Billy the Kid was a prisoner in Mesilla and tried and convicted of murder. A team of volunteers has collected names and items for the display. One of the items is the barber chair – built c1870 – in which Billy the Kid had his hair cut before the trial. The chair was once in the Billy the Kid Museum, owned by Dr. George Griggs in the 1930s, which is now La Posta Restaurant. The chair is currently in a private collection. An open house of the museum display will take place from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The visitor center is an extension of the current Mesilla Town Hall, located at 2231 Avenida de Mesilla.
For more information about the ceremony, call Kristie Medina at (575) 524-3262 ext. 116.
Tags: Billy the Kid, Mesilla, History
Friday, February 15th, 2008
130th Anniversary of Incorporation
Today appears to be the 130th anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Mesilla. Yet there is no celebration, no mention by the village government.
Perhaps this is explained by the fact the no one appears to know the correct date of incorporation. The history of Mesilla on the official Mesilla town site gives 1861 as the year of incorporation. Other dates are given by other sites.
I present here evidence of the official incorporation of Mesilla that appears to be definitive. This is the text of the official Act of the Territory of New Mexico that incorporates the Town of Mesilla, as printed in the Mesilla Valley Independent newspaper, dated May 4, 1878. The Act is given as passed by the Territorial Legislature on February 15, 1878. That makes today the 130th anniversary of that act.
If anyone knows differently, please post it as a comment.
An Act to Incorporate “The Incorporation of Mesilla”
Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of New Mexico:
SECTION 1. All owners and holders of real estate situated within the limits of Mesilla Grant in Dona Ana county who are actual residents within said limits, be, and they are hereby created a body politic and corporate under the name and style of the Incorporation of Mesilla and by that name may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded; may hold real estate and have a common seal.
SEC. 2. That the officers of said incorporation shall consist of three commissioners each one of whom shall be a qualified voter under this act. Said commissioners shall have authority to take control of all real estate held in common by said Incorporation, and shall make such rules for the government of the same as they may deem just and proper, and shall have the power to lease or rent, and with the consent of two thirds of the voters under this act to convey and dispose of such real estate, and to make deeds of conveyance therefore.
Sec. 3. The said commissioners shall be elected at an election to be held on the first Monday of January of each year. Each owner and holder of real estate within the limits of said incorporation who is an actual resident therein shall be entitled to one vote for each terreno of land he may own or hold within said limits, and one vote for each separate portion of terreno; the three persons receiving the highest number of votes cast shall be declared elected, and shall respectively hold office for one year, and until their successors are elected and qualified. The commissioners elect shall take the same oath that is required by justices of the peace.
SEC. 4. The commissioners shall elect one of their number as President, one as Secretary, and one as Treasurer. The President shall call meetings of the board whenever the business of the incorporation shall require, or whenever petitioned to do so by twenty qualified voters. Whenever the said commissioners shall deem it necessary or proper to sell or lease any real estate, belonging in common to said corporation they shall call a meeting of all the members of said corporation, by giving five days public notice of the same, and shall present the project fully to the meeting who shall take a vote theron, and if two thirds of the votes cast are in favor of the project, then the said commissioners shall have full power to sell or lease the lands voted on, and in case of an absolute sale, the signature of the president of said commissioners, attested by the signatures of the secretary and the seal of the incorporation, shall be sufficient to convey all the title of the said corporation to said land.
SEC. 5. That until the first election under this act, the Governor shall appoint three commissioners, who shall have all the powers that are by this act granted to commissioners elected under its provisions.
SEC 6. This act shall be in force and effect from and effect from and after its passage and approval.
Approved Feb’y 15th, 1878
Quoted in the Mesilla Valley Independent, May 4, 1878.
Not surprisingly, only land owners could vote. They received one vote for each “terreno” and each portion of a torreno, so, obviously, one person could have multiple votes.
But what is a “terreno?” I haven’t found any definition on the internet or elsewhere.
The measurement unit used by all the property deeds in Mesilla, which derives from the original Mexican land grant, is the “Spanish vera.” One vera as used in Mesilla is equal to 32.9927 inches, according to The History of La Mesilla and Her Mesilleros by Lionel Cajen Frietze. Are terrenos and veras are related?
Tags: History, Mesilla, Territory of New Mexico, Mesilla Incorporation
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007
Spineless Cactus
If you look around many of the older homes in the Mesilla Valley, you’ll see an odd-looking prickly pear. It’s thornless.
Alien mutation?
Nope — the non-prickly prickly pear is the creation of the eclectic Luther Burbank, “The Plant Wizard.”
Burbank was born in 1849 and had no schooling beyond 6th grade, but he did have an intense fascination with plant breeding. He is credited with creating over 800 strains and varieties of plants, including the “impossible” plumcot, which he called “a cross which man said could never be made.”
The 12 volumes of his 1914 magnum opus, “Luther Burbank: His Methods and Discoveries and Their Practical Application” is available online, includes wonderful color photos, and still makes interesting and enjoyable reading. His self-promotion, however, sometimes leads him to sound like a cross between a used car salesman and P. T. Barnum.
He says of this effort, “the work through which this result was achieved constituted in some respects the most arduous and soul-testing experience that I have ever undergone.”
Here’s a picture from the book showing Burbank examining cactus seedlings:
It may look like a loving relationship, but…
“For five years or more the cactus blooming season was a period of torment to me both day and night. Time and again I have declared from the bottom of my heart that I wished I had never touched the cactus to attempt to remove its spines. Looking back on the experience now, I feel that I would not have courage to renew the experiments were it necessary to go through the same ordeal again.
Not only would the little spicules find lodgement everywhere in my skin, but my clothing became filled with them, and the little barbs would gradually work their way through the cloth and into my flesh, causing intense irritation.”
The spines on the prickly pear (and other cacti) evolved from leaves on its ancestral parent. These leaves, over time, became sharp spines and acquired the capacity to detach easily when touched, a very effective defense against being eaten.
What Burbank succeeded in doing with his selection and cross-breeding was to produce a plant that grew only rudimentary spines and then dropped them voluntarily. In this photo from his book you can see the vestigial leaves with the spines gone.
Burbank’s hopes for millions of acres of desert growing spineless cactus as animal feed was never realized, but for a while the un-prickly pear was quite popular as a landscape plant around homes in arid areas like Southern New Mexico.
Here’s a planting around an old Adobe home in Mesilla:
A planting in Las Cruces:
A planting in Organ:
A planting next to an abandoned, decaying Adobe in Doña Ana:
A cactus without spines is defenseless. The photo below was taken about 2 months after the one above:
Someone, in an act of pure vandalism, has stomped the plant.
Tags: Spineless Cactus, Luther Burbank, History, Adobe
Friday, April 6th, 2007
Saving the Pat Garrett Marker
Mesilla’s sister city of Las Cruces is considering the incorporation and development of 6,480 acres of state land. This is a big increase in the area of Las Cruces — amounting to over 10 square miles. The local paper reports that this area could ultimately contain as many as 90,000+ homes.
It turns out that one of the proposed development blocks contains a concrete marker built by Pat Garrett’s son (Jarvis Garrett) on the location where his Dad was shot. This is a well-known and famous event in Las Cruces, but evidently the existence of the marker has been a secret known only by a very few up until now. I understand the reason for the secrecy was to prevent vandalism.
Now that the marker is in danger of being destroyed by the proposed development, a local organization called Friends of Pat Garrett has been formed to save the marker. Details about the campaign are available on the web site:
Here’s a photo of the marker courtesy of the web site:
The marker was evidently put up by Jarvis Garrett between 1938 and 1940.
In this close-up you can see “Feb 1908″ scratched in the concrete. Pat Garrett was shot Feb 28, 1908.
This is an excellent cause. Information on how you can contact the Las Cruces City Council to support saving this marker is on the Friends of Pat Garrett site.
Tags: Pat Garrett, Billy the Kid, History, Las Cruces
Thursday, March 1st, 2007
Adobe Restoration
Part of preserving Mesilla history is restoring and maintaining its old adobe homes. This isn’t a cheap proposition and most home buyers won’t do it.
Here’s a wonderful example of a new home owner who’s willing to buy a neglected adobe and restore it:
This structure was built originally as a single room adobe in the 1860s, then added to over a period of 40 years. Here’s the original part of the house:
The lintels show the location of entrances, later closed in. Here’s a better view of the blocked doors:
Here’s a view of the living room and the corner where the fireplace was located and will be restored:
Another corner showing a blocked window and a restored wall:
In order to preserve this wall, it was necessary to add a new wall beside it:
Another example of repair:
This is one of the wonderful features of the structure, an arched door:
After the adobe walls are made structurally sound, they will be plastered inside and out, making an energy efficient home that will be naturally cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Tags: Adobe, History, Mesilla, Restoration
Friday, December 15th, 2006
Blacksmith
Here’s the old Mesilla blacksmith shop, which was built before 1900. It’s been closed for 40 years. 
The structure is unplastered adobe.
Here’s a closer view of the weathered front and the sliding horse door.
The human door:
The inside:
Tags: Mesilla, Blacksmith Shop
Thursday, December 7th, 2006
Adobe Embeds
Here’s a well-maintained adobe building co-habitating with the remains of an old adobe structure.
This kind of thing can be seen around Mesilla because most owners don’t want to demolish this historical heritage. In recognition of this preference, Mesilla has a city ordinance against removing old adobe structures.
This tree was undoubtedly alive when it was incorporated into this adobe wall.
So we have duple embeds: tree in wall, wall in building. Or do we have tree in building, building in wall?
Tags: Adobe, Mesilla, Duple Embeds
