La Mesilla Historic District | |
![]() Mesilla Plaza, looking northwest, 2005 | |
Location | Roughly bounded by Calle del Norte, Calle del El Paso, Calle del Cura and Calleion Guerro, Mesilla, New Mexico |
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Coordinates | 32°16′27.519″N106°47′43.6632″W / 32.27431083°N 106.795462000°W |
Built | 1848 |
Architectural style | Mission/Spanish Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 66000475 (original) 82003323 (increase) |
NMSRCP No. | 14, 776 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 [1] |
Boundary increase | July 20, 1982 [1] |
Designated NHLD | July 4, 1961 [2] |
Designated NMSRCP | August 29, 1980 |
Mesilla Plaza is the central plaza in the small town of Mesilla in far southern New Mexico. The plaza and a number of its surrounding buildings are a National Historic Landmark District, significant for its role in the transfers of power that brought first the original New Mexico Territory and later the Gadsden Purchase into United States control. The most notable building facing the plaza is the Basilica of San Albino, which has been on the plaza since its establishment in 1851. The plaza was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. [3] [4]
The town of Mesilla was created by a Mexican government decree in 1848, as a place to receive Mexican citizens who sought to remain on Mexican soil after the cession of the northern parts of present-day New Mexico were ceded to the United States in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican–American War. Just five years later, the Gadsden Purchase agreement result in the United States purchase of the southern strips of present-day New Mexico and Arizona, an area that includes Mesilla. The Mesilla Plaza was the site of an official flag-raising ceremony on November 18, 1854, confirming United States sovereignty over the area. The town continued to hold a prominent economic role in territorial affairs, serving as a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route, and other stagecoach routes. It served as a military center during the American Civil War, at different times for both Union and Confederate forces in the Arizona Territory. [4]
Mesilla Plaza was the site of one of the bloodiest political riots in New Mexico history. On August 27, 1871, Democrats held a large political rally in the plaza for their candidate for territorial delegate to the United States Congress. Republicans were also holding a rally at a nearby home for their candidate. The Republicans moved from the house to the plaza to disrupt the Democrats' rally. The two groups confronted each other yelling and shoving. One man was struck with an axe handle and then shooting started. Soldiers from nearby Fort Selden stationed in the town to stop any violence had left earlier when it appeared the rallies were peaceful. A messenger caught up with the soldiers and they returned to Mesilla. By then, most of the violence was over. Nine people were killed, and an estimated fifty people were injured. [5]
The plaza today is still ringed by many buildings harkening back to its early days. The plaza itself, originally an open dirt area, is now lined by brick sidewalks and is grassy, and sports a bandstand built in the 1970s. The most prominent structure is the Basilica of San Albino, built in 1906 on the site of the original 1852 church. Buildings on the east and west sides include Territorial style buildings from the 1850s, among them the original Butterfield State ticket office and waiting room. Some buildings were originally built as residences, but have since been readapted for commercial use, while some were originally built for commercial use. [4]
Mesilla is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,196 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Gadsden Purchase is a 29,670-square-mile (76,800 km2) region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effect on June 8, 1854. The purchase included lands south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande where the U.S. wanted to build a transcontinental railroad along a deep southern route, which the Southern Pacific Railroad later completed in 1881–1883. The purchase also aimed to resolve other border issues.
Old Town is the historic original town site of Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the provincial kingdom of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, established in 1706 by New Mexico governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés. It is listed on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties as the Old Albuquerque Historic District, and is protected by a special historic zoning designation by the city. The present-day district contains about ten blocks of historic adobe buildings surrounding Old Town Plaza. On the plaza's north side stands San Felipe de Neri Church, a Spanish colonial church constructed in 1793.
The Palace of the Governors is an adobe structure built in the Territorial Style of Pueblo architecture on Palace Avenue in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Located within the Santa Fe Historic District along the Santa Fe Plaza between Lincoln and Washington avenues, it has served as the seat of government for New Mexico for centuries, having been established as the capitol building of Nuevo México in 1610.
The Santa Fe Plaza is a National Historic Landmark in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico in the style of traditional Spanish-American colonial cities. The plaza, or city square is a gathering place for locals and also a tourist attraction. It is home to annual events including Fiestas de Santa Fe, the Spanish Market, the Santa Fe Bandstand, and the Santa Fe Indian Market.
San Juan Bautista State Historic Park is a California state park encompassing the historic center of San Juan Bautista, California, United States. It preserves a significant concentration of buildings dating to California's period of Spanish and Mexican control. It includes the Mission San Juan Bautista, the Jose Castro House, and several other buildings facing the historic plaza. It became a state park in 1933 and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It is also a site on the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of New Mexico.
The Barrio de Analco Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District centered at the junction of East De Vargas Street and Old Santa Fe Trail in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The seven buildings of the district represent one of the oldest clusters of what were basically working-class or lower-class residences in North America, and are in a cross-section of pre-statehood architectural styles. It includes two of the oldest colonial-era buildings in the southwest, the San Miguel Mission church (1710), and the "Oldest House", built in 1620 and now a museum. The district was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1968.
The Kit Carson House is a historic house museum at 113 Kit Carson Road in central Taos, New Mexico. Built in 1825, it was from 1843 until his death the home of frontiersman Kit Carson (1809-1868). A good example of Spanish Colonial architecture, it is now owned by the local Masonic fraternity, and serves as a museum dedicated to Carson's life. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.
The San Jose de Gracia Church, also known as Church of Santo Tomas Del Rio de Las Trampas, is a historic church on the main plaza of Las Trampas, New Mexico. Built between 1760 and 1776, it is one of the least-altered examples of a Spanish Colonial Pueblo mission church, with adobe walls rising 34 feet (10 m) in height. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.
Seton Village is a National Historic Landmark District in a rural residential area south of Santa Fe in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It encompasses a residential settlement and educational facility established in 1930 by Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946), an educator and conservationist best known as a founder of the Boy Scouts of America. The district includes the remains of Seton's 32-room home and other residential and educational buildings constructed mostly between 1930 and 1945. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
San Estévan del Rey Mission Church is a Spanish mission church in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallupon the Acoma Pueblo Reservation in western New Mexico. Built between 1629 and 1641, it is one of the finest extant examples of hybrid Spanish Colonial and Puebloan architectural styles. It was named for Saint Stephen I of Hungary. The church was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It remains a mission church and is part of the parish of San José de la Laguna in Laguna, New Mexico.
San Francisco de Asís Mission Church is a historic and architecturally significant building on the main plaza of Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. Originally the center of a small Mexican and Indian 18th Century agricultural community. Built between 1772 and 1816 replacing an earlier church in that location. New Mexico was then part of the Vice-Royalty of New Spain. It is a fine example of a New Mexico Spanish Colonial Church, and is a popular subject for artists. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It is a parish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
The Larkin House is a historic house at 464 Calle Principal in Monterey, California. Built in 1835 by Thomas O. Larkin, it is claimed to be the first two-story house in all of California, with a design combining Spanish Colonial building methods with New England architectural features to create the popular Monterey Colonial style of architecture. The Larkin House is both a National and a California Historical Landmark, and is a featured property of Monterey State Historic Park.
Monterey Colonial is an architectural style developed in Alta California. Although usually categorized as a sub-style of Spanish Colonial style, the Monterey style is native to the post-colonial Mexican era of Alta California. Creators of the Monterey style were mostly recent immigrants from New England states of the US, who brought familiar vernacular building styles and methods with them to California.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of New Mexico:
The Santiago E. Campos United States Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located at Santa Fe in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Formerly designated simply as the United States Courthouse, it was renamed for the late District Judge Santiago E. Campos in 2004.
The Basilica of San Albino, formerly known as San Albino Church of Mesilla, is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces and is located in Mesilla, New Mexico. It has the distinction of having originally been established in Mexico, but it is now located in the United States as a result of a transfer of territory in the Gadsden Purchase. The first church on the site was built in 1852; the current structure was built in 1906, and is one of the oldest churches in the region. Daily Masses are held in both Spanish and English.
Mesilla may refer to:
The Barela-Reynolds House is a historic adobe and brick building complex on the historic plaza in Mesilla, New Mexico, with a store at the front and a house at the rear. A zaguan leads to a rear courtyard about 30 by 30 feet in plan, enclosed by the buildings, the oldest of which were built around 1850. Two separate parts were merged into one property in 1903. North of the zaguan was a store operated during the 1850s by trader Mariano Yrissari and later by trader Mariano Barela. The front of this portion is topped by a triangular parapet, a Greek Revival style feature adopted into New Mexico's Territorial style, and the triangle is repeated in pedimented lintels of two doorways and two large windows. This part was a silversmith shop, "El Platero", in 1977, which moved to the other part by 2009. South of the zaguan is a portion occupied by an antique shop, "Las Viejas", in 1977. This part has a cast iron front and a metal, bracketed cornice, with a flagpole centered above. It was the "notions and dry goods department" of the Reynolds and Griggs Co., a firm which operated feed and grocery business in the next building to the south, not part of this property.
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(help) and Accompanying photos, exterior and interior (32 KB)