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New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum

 

Where Gumbo Was #497

If I wasn't curious, I might have missed an excellent museum in Las Cruces. I always enjoy learning about the history and backbone of a destination. I dig for facts.

I decided to visit New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum after reading that the sprawling museum celebrates rural New Mexico, the past, and the present.

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I started in the Heritage Gallery. Past a large stagecoach and into a beautifully designed space, I found a recreated colonial home at the center of the Spanish Colonial section of the gallery. The home is made of adobe plaster and wood. It includes two rooms – a living room and a courtyard. New Mexico's Spanish Colonial period was from 1598, when the Spanish first settled in the region, to 1821.

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Another exhibit, Wheels & Gears, features vehicles and equipment, including a 1936 half-ton International Harvester pickup truck, a 1924 Model T Roadster, a delivery wagon from 1895, and a 1900 buckboard wagon used on a ranch near Grants, New Mexico, to name a few.

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Creative arts are celebrated in the museum. I watched Merle Paul put the last finishes on a woven shawl made on a triangle weaving loom this day. There are other exhibits, including beautiful art and several historic photographs.

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After I visithe galleries, I join other guests on a golf cart for a "Back 20" tour. A friendly and knowledgeable guide shows us farm animals and antique farming equipment.

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We cross a bridge known as the Pecos River Bridge and the Rio Hondo Bridge, the state's second-oldest highway bridge. It marks the gateway for visitors to cross the Tortugas Arroyo to reach outdoor exhibits, barns, fields, and livestock facilities.

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Although there is a vast display of farm implements of the past, my favorite feature of the tour is seeing the many animals raised in the state: Navajo Churro and Debouillet sheep and cattle, including Corrientes, Texas Longhorns, Herford, Black Angus, Brangus, American Brahman, Charolais, and Holstein.

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Anyone interested in history, farming, and culture will enjoy this museum and appreciate all the friendly employees making sure the museum's story is respected. I highly recommend it.

Congratulations to George G, who correctly identified the mystery site!

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