Historic Mesilla

Currently we are parked at the very friendly Eagles lodge in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Today Ron and I went to check out the tiny, but historic town of Mesilla. The town was incorporated in 1848 and until the Gadsden Purchase in 1853 was part of Mexico.

The town is built in the classic Spanish American style around a plaza with a gathering area, church, and government buildings. There were also two stage lines that stopped in Mesilla - the Butterfield and the Santa Fe.



The closer building is El Patio and a thriving cantina since 1934. We can attest to the thriving part today anyway. Before that, at various times, it housed the Butterfield Overland Mail, the Mesilla Times, Sam Bean's saloon, a blacksmith's forge, a mercantile, and the US Post Office. The white building in the back is La Posta - the only station still standing on the Butterfield Trail.



The building with this charming 'Billy the Kid gift shop' was once the Capitol of Arizona and New Mexico. To be fair, though, it was also the courthouse where Billy the Kid was tried and sentenced to hang.



Alright, so sue me, I did go into the Billy the Kid gift shop, who could resist? I was drawn to this hoop dancer doll.



There were also many picturesque adobe structures around town such as this lovely gate.


Although the town is now geared toward tourists with all the shops and eateries, it still retains a lot of charm and a feeling of history.