Traveling the West
How times fly’s past without us
noticing it’s gone.
Ten years ago, we visited Las Vegas—no,
not that one—Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Several of my western novels
frequent Las Vegas, NM, because, in its day, it was a rough and tumble western
town. It was well established by the time the Mexican-American War erupted in
1846. From the 1820 through to the Civil War era, wagons from the Santa Fe Trail
stopped to rest in the grassy meadows between the Gallinas and Pecos rivers and
shop in the Las Vegas stores. These meadows served as a gathering place for Spanish
and Native Americans from the 1600s to early 1800s and gave the new village its
name, “Las Vegas,” meaning the meadows.
In 1846, General Stephan Kearny climbed
to the porch roof of the General Store to calm and reassure local residents,
Mexican citizens, they would not be harmed if they did not fight the US Army.
The downtown district and the stores are little changed since those early days.
The major change in the area came
in 1879, when the Santa Fe railroad finally arrived and replaced the Santa Fe
Trail and its wagon traffic. Las Vegas was larger than Denver at the time.
The arrival of the Santa Fe railroad
created a little town “on the wrong side of the tracks,” where nefarious
characters came to ply their trade of gambling, bunko, and mayhem. Doc Holiday
practiced there before buying into a saloon and gambling hall with one of the
local lawmen.
In the midst of this turmoil, Fred
Harvey constructed a classic Mission Revival hotel as part of his Harvey House
chain of hotels alongside the railroad stations.
When we visited in 2009, the old structure
hid behind a chain-link fence. We admired its classic design, and at the time
wondered why no one sought to revive the grand old hotel.
Fast forward 10-years and a welcome
the newly re-opened Hotel Castañeda.
Allan Affeldt, and his wife,
artist Tina Mion, renovated and remodeled La Posada, another Harvey House, in
Winslow, AZ, 20 years ago, much to the delight of the townsfolk. Mr. Affeldt used
his experience from the La Posada to give an idea of what it would take to
reconstruct the old hotel. He has done a masterful job in restoring La Castañeda and changing the old
single rooms into modern hotel rooms with a bath. The spacious halls and grand staircase
have regained their former splendor. Affeldt, in keeping with history,
purchased 2,600 pieces of furniture from the Santa Fe former Harvey House, La
Fonda, to add to the historic charm of the La Castañeda in Las Vegas, NM. Mr. Affeldt also purchased and
renovated the historic Plaza hotel on the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas. If you
visit the area, be sure to visit the shops on the square (and Tome on the
Range, the local independent bookstore.) Consider staying at the two historic
hotels, The Plaza and La Castañeda.
https://www.facebook.com/CastanedaHotel/
My next two blogs will delve into
the history of Las Vegas and describe a few of the colorful characters who helped
the railroad district earn its reputation.
In closing, I’ll brag for the moment
that “The Apprenticeship of Nigel Blackthorn” is #2 on Amazon and has 138+
5-star Reviews.
My latest book, “North in the
Spring,” the 2nd book in The Apprenticeship series is #1, beating
out “The Apprenticeship” for the top spot.
A tip of my hat to all my blog
followers who have followed my novels and posted reviews on Amazon and
Goodreads. I appreciate your support. I couldn’t do it without you. If you read
these books, you know Las Vegas NM is a favorite stop on “north in the spring.”
Thanks for riding along.
Frank Kelso
I like to support indie authors and I’m
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