Fifty Years of Progress at New Mexico State University
Fifty Years of Progress at New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University began as Las Cruces College in a two-room adobe building near downtown Las Cruces in 1888. Hiram Hadley’s little school became the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1890 when it received 100-acres of land from Las Cruces farmer and businessman Jacob Schaublin, becoming the territory’s land-grant school. The first building constructed on the campus was McFie Hall in 1890. All that remains of that building today is its cornerstone, which can be found on the east end of the horseshoe in the center of campus. Few other buildings were erected in the college’s early years. In 1907, the Board of Regents commissioned Henry Trost of Trost and Trost Architects of El Paso to come up with a master plan for the campus.
Trost’s plan for campus called for the construction of thirteen buildings laid out in a horseshoe shape, open on the west with the main building placed on the curve to the east and a grassy quad in the middle. Drawing inspiration from the Spanish missions of California, Trost’s plan included six buildings on either side of an elaborate administration building connected by arched arcades topped with red tiles. Of the thirteen planned buildings, only eight were built.
As enrollment grew, the campus began to expand its borders, moving beyond Trost’s original horseshoe plans. Funding from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided for the construction of several buildings on campus during the 1930s and 1940s. Another construction boom in the 1960s saw the campus stretch further east and west. New buildings have been steadily added as needs arose and funding became available. The campus of New Mexico State University has seen incredible growth over the past 134 years-from a single two-room building in 1888 to more than 250 buildings today.
Notable building construction dates:
Aggie Memorial Stadium 1978
Branson Hall 1952
Corbett Center 1968
Dove Hall 1936
Foster Hall 1930
Garcia Annex 1949
Garcia Hall 1968
Gerald Thomas Hall 1963
Goddard Hall 1913
Guthrie Hall 1968
Hadley Hall 1953
Jett Hall 1956
Kent Hall 1929
Memorial Tower 1950
Milton Hall 1941
Pan American Center 1968
Williams Hall 1938
YMCA/Conroy Honors Center 1907
Young Hall 1928
