November 2010

In 1977, the old elementary school at Gilbert and Elliot Roads was abandoned for classroom use. This seemed to be the ideal location for the Museum.

In 1979, the Gilbert Historical Society was incorporated as a non-profit corporation. In June 1980, the school building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The old elementary school building has been a Gilbert landmark for more than 90 years, preserving an element of life dear to the community. The society owns the building thanks to the generosity of Otto and Edna Neely and on May 15, 1982, the Gilbert Historical Museum opened to the public.

The society continues to enlighten the community by providing guest speakers at society meetings and continues to acquire new memorabilia for display.

The town acquired the park May 1, 1997, from MCO Properties, Inc. Approximately nine months later the Parks and Recreation Commission developed a new Park Master Plan.

Among the mammals, Pack Rats, Deer Mice, Spotted Skunks, Striped Skunks, Ringtails, Foxes, Badgers, Raccoons, Javelina, Bobcats, and Mountain Lions all call Colossal Cave Mountain Park home. And, of course, bats.

The tour route is a half mile long and takes about 45-50 minutes to complete. As your guide relates the Cave's history, legends, and geology, you walk down and back up about six and a half stories and see beautiful cave formations like stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, boxwork, and helictites.

The Chandler Historical Society was founded in 1969 as a non-profit corporation in order to collect artifacts related to the history and diversity of Chandler. Through its programs, the museum enhances understanding of the development of our community and fosters appreciation of the individuals and events that have shaped our history.

The mission of the Hubbard Museum of the American West is to collect, preserve and interpret the political, social, business, cultural, and environmental history of the American West from the period of human habitation to the present day, with special emphasis on the local and regional arts, history and culture. The Hubbard Museum will be a collaborative institution that provides exemplary public service for our patrons. Hubbard Museum programming, exhibits, and special events will seek to empower audiences to engage in a dialogue about the legacy of the American West and its continuing impact on American society.

R.D. and Joan Dale Hubbard founded the Hubbard Museum of the American West in 1992, then presented it to the City of Ruidoso Downs in 2005. It has grown from its original incredible collection of Anne C. Stradling’s Museum of the Horse to being a truly first class historic Western museum.

The village of Giusewa was built in the narrow San Diego Canyon by the ancestors of the present-day people of Jemez (walatowa) Pueblo. In the 17th century, the Spanish established a Catholic mission at the village. The mission was short-lived, and, in time, the people abandoned the site and moved to the current location of Jemez Pueblo. The heritage center contains exhibitions that tell the story of the site through the words of the Jemez people. A 1,400-foot interpretive trail winds through the impressive site ruins. Between 1621 and 1625, the Franciscans designed a massive, stonewalled church and convento (priests quarters) at Giusewa. They named their church San José de los Jémez. This mission complex was constructed with Pueblo labor. The church is unusual for its massive size and rare, octagonal bell tower. Colorful frescos that once decorated the interior walls were revealed during archaeological excavations in 1921 and 1922. San José de los Jémez was abandoned by 1640, likely as a result of forced labor and religious persecution by the Spanish.

Built on the banks of the Rio Grande, this adobe fort housed units of the U.S. Infantry and Cavalry. Their intent was to protect settlers and travelers in the Mesilla Valley from desperados and Apache Indians. A young Douglas Mac Arthur called the fort home while his father was post commander in the late 1880s. By 1890 criminals and raiding parties were no longer considered a threat as hostilities eventually lessened and the fort was no longer needed. Like many small forts in the Southwest the government decommissioned the fort and it was abandoned in 1891. Today the stark adobe brick walls of the frontier past evoke a feeling of personal connection to the past. A visitor center offers exhibits on frontier and military life.

The pueblo of Kuaua was occupied from 1300 AD and abandoned near the end of the 16th Century. Named for Francisco Vasquez de Coronado who is thought to have camped near this site with his soldiers in 1540 while searching for the fabled Cities of Gold, it is open to visitors interested in the history of the Kuaua pueblo people. An interpretive trail (1/5 of a mile) winds through the site leading to a reconstructed kiva (ceremonial chamber) that was excavated at the site in the 1930s. Inside this kiva you will find mural reproductions of Pueblo life depicting animal figures and human images. The Kuaua Mural Hall houses 15 panels of the original murals excavated out of one of the rectangle kivas. Native American and Spanish Colonial artifacts are on display in the visitor center. The Children's wing displays the history of central New Mexico. Activities include trying on conquistador armor, grinding corn on a slab/metate with a two-handed mano/grinding stone. A video presents the history of the two cultures past and present lifestyles.

The stately home of Mr. and Mrs. James Phelps White, a Roswell Landmark since its completion in 1912, now stands amidst towering trees at 200 N. Lea, Roswell, New Mexico, as the Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico Museum and Museum Archives. Its a reminder of turn-of-the-century life in this area while preserving documents and photographs. The home is filled with an array of antiques and artifacts. The archives are located in a new building next door to the museum.

Fort Stanton was established on May 4, 1855 to protect Hispanic settlements along the Rio Bonito from Apache raids. Home to Kit Carson, John "Black Jack" Pershing, Billy the Kid, and hundreds of Buffalo Soldiers, the fort remained an active part of the Western frontier until it was decommissioned in 1896. Fort Stanton later became America's first federal tuberculosis hospital and first German internment camp during World War II. The Fort also served as home to Japanese interned during the war, persons with mental and developmental disabilities, and State prisoners recovering from substance abuse.