Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, Columbus, New Mexico
This unused postcard was published by Warren D. Yell, of Las Cruces, New Mexico and has the number 93319-D printed at the lower left corner on the reverse. There is a blurb at the upper left corner on the reverse: “Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, Columbus, New Mexico. Formerly El Paso and Southwestern, built in 1902. Now The Columbus Historical Museume. Designated a National Historic Site, 1975. Columbus is where Pancho Villa raided the United States Territory March, 1916.”
The village of Columbus was established in 1891 and was located just across the Mexican border from Palomas, Chihuahua. It was named after the explorer Christopher Columbus. When the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad was built in 1902, the village was moved 3 miles where this station shown on the card was built. The station has now been converted to a museum that is run by the Columbus Historical Society.
In March 1916 a group of 500 men led by the revolutionary leader Pancho Villa, Colonel Francisco Beltrán, Colonel Candelario Cervantes, General Nicolás Frenáandez, General Pablo López, and others attacked the town where a detachment of the 13th U.S. Calvary Regiment was garrisoned. Part of the town was burned. Seven or eight soldiers and 10 civilians were killed before Villa retreated back to Mexico. President Woodrow Wilson sent 10,000 troops to Columbus to pursue Villa. This action was known as the Pancho Villa Expedition or the Punitive Mexican Expedition. However, Villa managed to escape and the expedition to find him was called off.
During the years between 1926 and the 1990s the town changed and decayed as the army closed its camp, and the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad stopped service to Columbus. In the 1990s a revitalization started that included building city and state parks, museums, and RV parks. Columbus today has about 1,800 residents, a library, an elementary school, and the museum that occupies the old railroad depot. About 90% of the students attending the school come from homes where Spanish is the main language. The school works with parents and the community to promote a bicultural and bilingual environment.
For additional information, see:
No comments:
Post a Comment