New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

06/17/2026

This Week in New Mexico History

The Matthew Elmore Sewalt House, located in Lovington, Lea County, New Mexico, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on June 19, 2006.

In 1916, Lea County Rancher Mathew Elmore Sewalt bought an adobe house in Lovington to serve as his growing family’s town home. Ranchers often purchased a second house in town for their wife and children and to use to conduct business. He remodeled the house significantly by adding a living room, a dining room, a bath and two bedrooms.

Mathew Wlmore Sewalt contributed much to improving Lovington, including organizing corporations that founded the town’s first bank and financed its first modern hotel. He arrived from Texas in 1908 and started his career as a schoolteacher in the town of Malaga, south of Carlsbad.

Sewalt left the school and moved to Carlsbad to work for three years on rebuilding the Pecos River Flume, a keystone of the Carlsbad Irrigation District. He later became a successful sheep rancher. By 1918 the town of Lovington’s boom had ended and Sewalt died in the influenza epidemic.

The Sewalt House is eligible at the local level under Criterion C for Architecture as a good example of a town home. With its Craftsman architectural details, the house is one of best examples of its type in Lovington.

The nomination for listing may be found online here:
https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/89f4165f-bc3a-4957-a4d4-a3045565738b

06/11/2026

This Week in New Mexico History

The Oliver Lee Dog Canyon Ranch located at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park in Alamogordo, Otero County, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 26, 2015.

The Oliver Lee Dog Canyon Ranch is the site of a late-19th to early 20th century ranch complex located within Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. The State Park is approximately 10 miles south of Alamogordo, New Mexico.

The ranch is composed of archaeological sites including the ranch house, barn, corral, shed, chicken house, slaughterhouse, holding pens, corral and reservoir. The only standing structures associated with the original site are the reconstructed Oliver Lee ranch house and the pumphouse.

The listing is an archaeological historic district associated with Oliver Lee and represents the challenges of ranching in the Southwest at the turn of the 20th century. The ranch is significant at the state level under National Register Criterion D in the area of archaeology (Historic non-aboriginal), because the complex includes demonstrated information and data potential.

The ranch is also significant at the state level under National Registe Criterion A and Criterion B in the area of agriculture because Lee made significant contributions to agriculture in southern New Mexico, including innovative strategies to maximize water usage in the region. He also developed local retail establishments for his beef and contributed to the founding of Alamogordo as a railroad hub allowing Lee to ship his cattle throughout the New Mexico Territory.

The Ranch is significant at the state level under Criterion B in the area of social history because Lee was an important figure in the violent struggles of small ranchers against established cattle institutions in the Tularosa Basin in the 1890s.

The nomination for the Ranch is not yet digitized.

06/09/2026

54th Annual Heritage Preservation Awards

The Cultural Properties Review Committee held its 54th Annual Heritage Preservation Awards on May 29 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

Awards were presented to five organizations/individuals for outstanding work in the field of historic preservation. Jody Price provided music courtesy of New Mexico Arts.

Awards included:

Architectural Heritage Preservation Award
Fort Stanton Historic Site, Fort Stanton
Department of Cultural Affairs Facilities Staff
In recognition of the rehabilitation completed on
four buildings –the Visitors Center, Laundress Quarters,
Hospital and Nurses’ Quarters.

Heritage Preservation Award for Organizations
Kit Carson House and Museum, Taos
Kit Carson House, Inc., the Board of Directors and Staff
In recognition of their collective work as an educational
Institution and efforts in completing significant
Preservation projects.

Architectural Heritage Preservation Award
Albuquerque Railyards, Albuquerque
City of Albuquerque, New Mexico Media Academy + CNM
Film Production Center, SMPC Architects and CSR Architects
In recognition of the outstanding creative design and
Rehabilitation of the historic Boiler Shop

Heritage Preservation Individual Achievement Award
Dr. Jerry Wallace
In recognition of his work as a public historian at
New Mexico State University and his community-
Driven preservation efforts.

Heritage Preservation Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Rick Hendricks
In recognition of his extensive scholarly contributions
to New Mexico history as well as his service on the
Cultural Properties Review Committee as chair and
as state historian.

Congratulations to the award winners!

06/04/2026

This Week in New Mexico History

The Laboratory of Anthropology Director’s Residence, located in Santa Fe, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 30, 2023. The building now operates as the Nuevo Mexicano Heritage Arts Museum by the Spanish Colonial Arts Society.

The Director’s Residence was home to the directors of the Laboratory of Anthropology from 1931 to 1947. The Lab is a renowned research facility and state repository located on Museum Hill in Santa Fe. Founded in 1927 with major funding from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the Lab is dedicated to the study, preservation and exhibition of the indigenous cultures and history of the American Southwest.

The Director’s Residence was part of a plan for a 38-building research complex devoted to anthropological study of the cultures of the region. After the stock market crash of 1929, a two-building project proceeded which included the Laboratory of Anthropology and the accompanying Director’s Residence.

Built in 1930 and designed by John Gaw Meem, the Director’s Residence is one of Meem’s significant early works. Known for his attention to detail, John Gaw Meem filled the Director’s Residence with handcrafted details in wood, wrought iron and tin. The building is one-story, with a flat roof and smooth earth-colored wall surfaces resembling the area’s earlier adobe buildings.

The Director’s Residence is 5,000 square feet in size and was large enough to entertain visiting scholars. Many of the decorative motifs for the Director’s Residence can be found in a reference book from Meem’s persona library, “Spanish Interiors and Furniture” (1928), compiled by the Hispanic Society of North America.

After the Lab directors no longer resided there the residence was owned by the School of American Research, now known as the School for Advanced Research. The director of SAR lived in the residence until the late 1990s. In 1998 the residence was gifted to the Spanish Colonial Arts Society. Since 1998 the Director’s Residence has served as headquarters and exhibit space for the SCAS.

The nomination for the Director’s Residence is not yet digitized in the National Park Service’s online database. The Laboratory of Anthropology’s nomination may be found here:
https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/1bfc4653-b83e-4fa6-a188-34882654e443

05/29/2026

Join us this afternoon for the 54th Annual Heritage Preservation Awards.

Presented by the Cultural Properties Review Committee, Heritage Preservation Awards recognize projects, organizations and leaders who best exemplify a dedication to preserving New Mexico's cultural heritage.

Friday, May 29, 2026, 1:00 p.m.
National Hispanic Cultural Center. Grand Hall
1701 4th Street SW, Albuquerque

For more information, visit:
https://nmhistoricpreservation.org/programs/preservation-month.html

05/28/2026

This Week in New Mexico History

Old St. Joseph Hospital, located at 715 Martin Luther King Drive NE, in Albuquerque, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 27, 1982.

Built in 1930, the building is four stories with aY-shaped plan. The building is constructed of dark brick and light concrete, with a concrete block foundation. The façade is divided into two wings separated by an entrance bay. The building was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by W. Miles Brittelle.

Ornament is concentrated on the re-entrant angle in the center of the plan with a tower rising above a three-part entrance. The entrance includes round-headed arches and machicolated cornices in the flat and raking cornices. Arcaded towers anchor the ends. In recent years, a port cochere was added to the east side.

In the late 1800s, Albuquerque became known throughout the country as a center for the treatment of pulmonary diseases. The hospital building is the oldest standing building in the St. Josephs’ Sanitorium institution. The building is significant for its role in the development of Albuquerque as a health center, and for its architectural contribution to the city.

The first Sanitorium, Saint Joseph’s Sanitorium, was built in 1902 and demolished in 1968. It was established by the Sisters of Charity. The Sisters played an essential role in caring for thousands of health seekers who arrived in Albuquerque in the first part of the 20th century.

In 1928 hospital administrator Sister Mary Lawrence decided that the original sanitorium and its additional cottages and halls were too small and commissioned the firm of George Williamson to design a new hospital. W. Miles Brittelle, who worked in the firm, drew up a plan for the new hospital and construction began on the new building which was just east of the sanitorium. Other buildings in Albuquerque designed by Brittelle include the President’s House at UNM and the Springer Building.

The hospital opened in March of 1930, and the structure had 150 beds, cost $350,000 to build and was reported to be the most modern hospital in the southwest. The original 1902 building was replaced with an 11-story building and in 2002, the hospital was sold. The building is now a part of the Lovelace Medical Center.

The nomination for listing may be found online, here:
https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/cecc9030-0d64-487f-a61a-ee2626044a3f

More about Miles Brittelle may be found online here:
https://grokipedia.com/page/miles_brittelle

05/21/2026

This Week in New Mexico History

The Pinos Altos Historic District, located in Pinos Altos, Grant County, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 21, 1984.

The town began in 1860 when Californian prospectors discovered gold and established a mining camp. Word spread quickly and over 820 names were listed on the local census report later that year. Among Pinos Altos’ first citizens were merchants from El Paso Texas, and from Dona Ana, seeking to capitalize in the growing town.

Pinos Altos was designated the county seat of Grant County in 1869. In 1870 a group of miners made the discovery of silver ore, leading to the development of a new camp, later becoming Silver City. Two years after Silver City’s founding, the county seat was removed from Pinos Altos to the new metropolis, where it remains today.

Mining at Pinos Altos started with placer or surface operations, where gold-bearing sand was rinsed in rocker boxes, to the use of burro-driven arrastras which crushed ore between flat stones to the more sophisticated stamp mills. A stamp mill is a heavy crushing machine that pulverizes hard rock or ore by repeatedly dropping vertical iron stamps (like a giant mortar and pestle). In August of 1897 most of the Pinos Altos mining district property was transferred to Phoebe Apperson Hearst, widow of Senator George Hearst of California and mother of William Randolph Hearst.

The Hearst company got to work hauling ore to Silver City, constructing a boarding house at the mines, and piping water from a recently purchased ranch above Fort Bayard. Mrs. Hearst made a large contribution toward the construction of a church, familiarly known since as the Hearst Church.

The boom was short-lived and by 1902 Pinos Altos mines had ceased operations. In early 1906 Hearst interests in Pinos Altos were transferred to the Comanche Mining and Smelting Company of Duluth, Minnesota. The Comanche company established a narrow-gauge railroad linking the minds to Silver City. The railroad consisted of sixteen miles of track, including forty-eight trestles. The railroad was only in operation for a short time. High grad ore was struck in 1913 but the pocket of rich ore quickly played out and another boom ended.

While Pinos Altos’ days with a self-supporting industry were over, it never became a ghost town, retaining a small population. Today, Pinos Altos has a charming main street with buildings dating back to the 1800s

The nomination for listing may be found online, here:
https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/ed72dc72-ce17-47ad-a5c2-d229de60b04f

05/18/2026

Coming up, Friday, May 29! Join us at 1:00 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center!

Don't forget, the Heritage Preservation Awards, hosted by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division, are coming up next Friday, May 29! Join us at the National Hispanic Cultural Center at 1:00 pm as we celebrate the best in preservation.

Learn more at https://nmhistoricpreservation.org/.

05/14/2026

This Week in New Mexico History

The Folsom Hotel, located in Folsom, Union County, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1987.

The Folsom Hotel was the first permanent store in Folsom, a town created by the railroad’s entry into northeastern New Mexico in the 1880s and during an increase in industry in the 1890s. The building was used primarily as a general mercantile store until the 1920s when it was converted into a hotel. It functioned as a hotel until the 1960s.

Folsom is most often associated with the nearby Folsom Man Site, but its existence is owed to the railroad. In 1888 the Denver and Fort Worth Railroad Company built south from Trinidad, Colorado, to meet the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway, which was building north from Texas. On March 14, 1888, the two lines met at Union Park, a few miles north of Folsom.

Cattle ranching had begun in the area in the mid-19th century and the establishment of Fort Union, Fort Bascom, and Fort Sumner drew cattlemen to the area with a need for supplies to feed soldiers. By the 1880s there were a number of large cattle ranches around Folsom. The combination of cattle ranches and the coming of the railroad assured Folsom’s temporary growth. By 1891 the population was 377 and by 1903 it was the largest in Union County with a population of 750.

Folsom Hotel was built in 1888 by F.B. Drew who had established one store at Capulin and one at Cottonwood Plaza (now Los Alamos). Drew and his partner, J.D. Phillips, built the two-story rock building and opened their general merchandise store. By 1902 the building had been sold to J.P. O’Dell. The Folsom Townsite Company had great plans for the town, building a depot, restaurant, 22-room hotel, newspaper building, land office, and one-room school. Most of the buildings in town were wiped out by the Dry Cimarron flood in 1908. After the 22-room hotel burned in the 1920s, the store was purchased by M.H. Crabtree and he and his wife operated the building as a hotel.

The nomination for listing may be found online, here:
https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/eb187df0-b4b6-4dfb-bfbe-dfe9f454fbb4

05/07/2026

This Week in New Mexico History

The Hayt-Wientge House in Santa Fe was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1977.

The house is situated on a low hill overlooking Santa Fe and is one of the earliest brick residences built in the area. Constructed by Walter V. Hayt in 1882, the house is an excellent example of Victorian architecture as it was executed in New Mexico. It is one of only two historic buildings in Santa Fe that has a mansard roof.

Walter V. Hayt came to the New Mexico Territory in 1879 from New York with his wife, Alice B. Hayt of Georgia. Hayt purchased the property with Joseph S. Sanford in 1882 for the sum of $400. In late 1882 Sanford conveyed the western portion of the property to Hayt.

In 1879 Hayt became a prominent merchant, operating a store on San Francisco Street with a partner. By 1882, Hayt was in business alone and an advertisement noted that he was a dealer in books, stationery, toys and notions. In 1884, Governor Sheldon appointed Hayt to the position of Inspector General.

Hayt built the house in 1882, and the house is visible in Stoner’s lithograph of Santa Fe. The Hayts left New Mexico in 1888 and sold the house to Christina and Frederick Wientge. The Wientges were jewelers and silversmiths from New Jersey. Christina added two brick rooms at the northeast corner of the house and after her husband died, she rented the second floor of the house to support her family.

In the 1920s, the front porch was extended, and stone terracing was built by Dave Steele who had married one of the Wientges’ four daughters. Steele operated a stable on West San Francisco Street. The Steeles made several updates to the property until they sold the property to Bill Williams who in turn conveyed it to Michael Weber in December of 1978. Weber served as Curator in Charge of the History Division and Director of the Museum of New Mexico and was the house’s owner when the nomination was completed in 1977. The house was recently up for sale and photos from Zillow depict the interior and exterior.

The nomination for listing may be found online, here:
https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/12127841-25dc-43a8-ac51-bc9c72516cde