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Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature; Sites by State >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> New Mexico >> Mesilla Historic District – New Mexico tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Mesilla Historic District – New Mexico

Images of Mesilla Historic District – New Mexico, taken in May 2025.

Located outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico, the Mesilla Historic District recognizes the small town for several historic events while part of Mexico as well as the United States. In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American war and established Mesilla as a part of Mexico. Then in 1854, the Gadsden Purchase placed the town in the territory belonging to the US. The “M” and the “54” painted on the bandstand commemorates the day (November 10) when the US flag was raised in the plaza.

From 1858 to 1861, the Butterfield Overland Trail (forerunner to the famed Pony Express) mail stage line stopped in Mesilla as part of its St. Louis to San Francisco route. And in 1880, Pat Garrett brought famed outlaw Billy the Kid to Mesilla to stand trial for murder, where he was convicted and sentenced to hang. He was returned to Lincoln County for execution of his sentence but he escaped, later being killed by Garrett in an ambush at Fort Sumner.
Basilica of San Albino (1906) in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Basilica of San Albino (1906) in the Mesilla Plaza HD 		Statue in front of the Basilica of San Albino in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Statue in front of the Basilica of San Albino in the Mesilla Plaza HD		 Central bandstand, with the 1854 Gadsden Purchase date, in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Central bandstand, with the 1854 Gadsden Purchase date, in the Mesilla Plaza HD		 Shops along the street in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Shops along the street in the Mesilla Plaza HD		 Calle de Santiago street marker in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Calle de Santiago street marker in the Mesilla Plaza HD
New Mexico’s oldest documented brick building (1860) in the Mesilla Plaza HD
New Mexico’s oldest documented brick building (1860) in the Mesilla Plaza HD		 Shops in New Mexico’s oldest documented brick building in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Shops in New Mexico’s oldest documented brick building in the Mesilla Plaza HD		 “The Window of Mesilla” in the Mesilla Plaza HD
“The Window of Mesilla” in the Mesilla Plaza HD		 El Patio Cantina housed a saloon, Post Office and the Mesilla Times in the Mesilla Plaza HD
El Patio Cantina housed a saloon, Post Office and the Mesilla Times in the Mesilla Plaza HD		 Once the capitol building of Arizona and New Mexico in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Once the capitol building of Arizona and New Mexico in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Building that served as the Butterfield Overland Mail office on the Mesilla Plaza HD
Building that served as the Butterfield Overland Mail office on the Mesilla Plaza HD		 Plaque celebrating the 1854 Gadsden Purchase in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Plaque celebrating the 1854 Gadsden Purchase in the Mesilla Plaza HD		 Bandstand and the Basilica of San Albino in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Bandstand and the Basilica of San Albino in the Mesilla Plaza HD		 Artwork in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Artwork in the Mesilla Plaza HD		 Arched entryway in the Mesilla Plaza HD
Arched entryway in the Mesilla Plaza HD

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