| the original state magazine
Southwestern Cities: Animas, Anthony, Aragon, Arenas Valley, Arrey, Bayard, Berino, Bingham, Buckhorn, Caballo, Central, Chamberino, Chaparral, Cliff, Columbus, Datil, Deming, Derry, Dona Ana, Elephant Butte, Fairacres, Fort Bayard, Garfield, Gila, Glenwood, Hachita, Hanover, Hatch, Hillsboro, Hurley, La Joya, La Mesa, Las Cruces, Lemitar, Lordsburg, Luna, Magdalena, Mesilla, Mesilla Park, Mesquite, Mimbres, Monticello, Mule Creek, Organ, Pinos Altos, Playas, Polvadera, Quemado, Radium Springs, Redrock, Reserve, Rincon, Roadfolks, Rodeo, Salem, San Acacia, San Antonio, San Lorenzo, San Miguel, Santa Clara, Santa Teresa, Silver City, Socorro, Sunland Park, Truth Or Consequences, Tyrone, Vado, White Sands Missile Range, Williamsburg, Winston
Mesilla
Mesilla is a lovely, historic old town in southwestern New Mexico, just outside Las Cruces. The heart of Mesilla, like so many old towns in the West, is the plaza. It is bordered on one end by the old adobe church, San Albino. The rest of the plaza is surrounded by adobe buildings that are now restaurants and shops. In the center of the plaza is a bandstand. The plaza is ringed with shade trees and benches. The Gadsden Purchase, ceding much of the Southwest to the United States, was signed in this plaza in 1854. A plaque marks the spot of the signing. Billy the Kid was once tried and imprisoned in Mesilla, but true to his reputation, escaped. The building that housed him is now the Billy The Kid Shop, selling T-shirts and other tourist trinkets.
While in Mesilla, visit the Fountain Theatre, the state's oldest theater, established as a vaudeville house in 1905. The historic town also is headquarters to New Mexico's newest park — the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park, a prime spot for bird watching along the Rio Grande.
Mesilla
Mesilla, NM 88046New Mexico Magazine's Mesilla Links