by J. J. Bowden Romulo Barela, an influential citizen of El Paso del Norte, petitioned Commissioner of Emigration, Guadalupe Miranda, for a league of land lying west of the Rio Grande River between the Miranda and Santa Teresa Grants. Barela stated that he desired to plant an orchard on…
by J. J. Bowden A deep sense of patriotism prompted Guadalupe Miranda who, in 1846, was Governor Manuel Armijo’s private secretary and also Secretary of the Department of New Mexico, to move from Santa Fe to El Paso del Norte following General Stephen W. Kearny’s conquest of New Mexico….
by J. J. Bowden Jose Manuel Sanchez Baca was one of the wealthy patriotic New Mexicans who elected to retain his Mexican citizenship after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. At his own expense, he transported his family, peons, and some 6,000 sheep from New Mexico to…
by J. J. Bowden After the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, numerous residents of New Mexico, who did not desire to become citizens of the United States, moved to Mexico. Many of these emigrants settled in the area west of the Rio Grande River in…
by J. J. Bowden The Village of Refugio de los Amoles, like Mesilla and Santo Tomas, was established in 1850 by fifty families of Mexican citizens, who elected to be repatriated after their native lands were ceded to the United States under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Shortly after…
by J. J. Bowden Sometime prior to the year 1790, a four‑league tract of land situated on the west bank of the Rio Grande River, the southeast corner of which was located about seven miles northwest of El Paso del Norte, Mexico, was granted to Francisco Garcia, the military…
by J. J. Bowden The Doña Ana Bend Colony and its land grant has played a leading role in the history of the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico. Doña Ana, the initial settlement on the grant and the oldest permanent settlement in the valley was founded in 1843, upon…
by J. J. Bowden El Bracito, an extremely fertile tract of bottom land situated within a prominent horseshoe bend of the Rio Grande is one of the best known natural landmarks in the Mesilla Valley. It is located approximately thirty‑three miles north of El Paso del Norte. For…
By J. J. Bowden Under the provision of the Eighth Article of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the residents of New Mexico were given the choice of retaining their Mexican nationality or becoming citizens of the United States. In an effort to encourage and assist any loyal Mexicans who…
by J. J. Bowden Until the advent of the automobile, travelers using the Camino Real between El Paso del Norte and Santa Fe faced the torturous trip through the dreaded Jornada del Muerto with a great deal of awe and hesitancy. The Jornada del Muerto, one of the true…
