New Mexico

Before New Mexico became a state in 1912, hardy pioneers had already established the village of Miller, known today as Artesia, on the dusty southeastern plains of the territory. Abundant artesian wells and, later, oil wells drew settlers from far and wide to make a living and a home in Artesia. As with any town, Artesia has evolved and changed throughout the years; businesses have come and gone, while the love for Bulldog sports still attracts the young and old. Today, Artesia continues to grow as the community takes pride in preserving and displaying the history of the town. Artesia captures this story in photographs, tracing the growth of Miller to Stegman to Artesia.

In 1740, a group of Hispanic families, seeking new cultivatable land, received a grant of more than 200,000 acres from the governor of Spanish New Mexico. In 1793, a church was built in the Belen Old Town Plaza under the direction of Franciscan priests. An agricultural community was formed around several plazas, and residents prospered through barter and subsistence farming. In the 1850s and 1860s, German immigrants joined Hispanic merchants to form a vibrant business community. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad arrived in Belen in the 1880s, and the nearby "Belen Cutoff" in 1908 linked both north-south and east-west rail lines to give Belen the nickname of the "Hub City." Today, more than 100 trains travel through the Belen rail yard daily.

Don Felix Candelaria received the San Clemente Land Grant from the Spanish Royal Government in 1716. The land was later claimed by Don Antonio José Luna, whose ancestors arrived in the early 18th century. Don Antonio's son Solomon Luna was instrumental in New Mexico's quest for statehood and was singularly influential in the creation of the New Mexico State Constitution. Ranching and farming were major commercial activities in Los Lunas, and Solomon Luna and his nephew Eduardo Otero were two of the largest sheep ranchers in the United States. Maximiliano Luna served in the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War. German-born merchants, the Huning and Neustadt families brought Anglo goods and culture to Los Lunas in the 1860s. From a population of 1,500 in 1986, Los Lunas has grown to more than 15,000 people today, making it the second fastest-growing community in New Mexico.

As a 21-year-old German immigrant, Franz Huning could not have envisioned his future in New Mexico when, in 1849, he signed on as a "bull whacker" for a wagon train heading down the Santa Fe Trail. From his beginnings as a clerk in Albuquerque's Old Town, Huning's entrepreneurial talents flourished over the next half-century. He took on the roles of merchant, flour mill operator, and land speculator, helping to secure Albuquerque as a division point with a depot, offices, and major repair shops for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. Huning's 700-acre estate, home to the once-legendary but now-demolished Castle Huning, fronted Albuquerque's main thoroughfare midway between Old Town and the bustling new downtown one mile east. It was a front-row seat to the city's development after the flood-prone Rio Grande was stabilized. Huning's former estate is now home to fine, diverse homes near the Albuquerque Country Club, as well as historic Route 66, Tingley Beach, the zoo, the Little Theatre, and a Christmas Eve luminaria tradition.