Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site Instructional Coordinator Supervisor Alexandra McKinney talks with KC Counts about how and why the state's newest historic site came to be. Here is a transcript of their conversation:
KC Counts:
So why don't you tell us a little bit about the Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site and why it's so special?
Alexandra McKinney:
Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site, it is a multi-layered historic site that was donated to the state of New Mexico in 2003, became an official state monument the following year, 2004. And it was donated to New Mexico by the Taylor family. J. Paul Taylor, he was a local legislator. Before that, he was a teacher, principal, and associate superintendent with the Las Cruces Public School system. And only after retiring did he serve as a representative for District 33, which covers Mesilla, Mesilla Park and the University Park area for 18 years. He was very involved in health and human services, lover of education, wanting children to have bilingual education. His wife, Mary, was a photographer, a researcher, historian, and literally wrote the book on Mesilla. And they had this pretty remarkable historic adobe home right on the Mesilla plaza that they had moved into in 1953. And over the course of the 70 years that they lived there, they raised seven children in the home. They painstakingly preserved the home to fit their needs while keeping the historic integrity of the home and collected this phenomenal collection of art and artifacts from all over the world, particularly from New Mexico, though, that helped to tell the story of New Mexico. And throughout their lives had this real love of New Mexico and wanted to leave the place to the state to be a place where people could learn about southern New Mexico history. So that is really the context, which brings us into what exactly Taylor Mesilla Historic Site is. It is a house museum and an art museum that sits on top of a historic site and really does serve to teach New Mexico about its own borderlands history and particularly Mesilla Valley history. That is what we are here to do is to share the story of the borderlands. And to your point about people living in an area and not knowing what it is, we want to be that place where people can come and learn about their own history.
KC Counts:
So tell us about the process of creating a historic site. What goes into that?
Alexandra McKinney:
It is a process, that is for sure, particularly when you're talking about creating a historic site that's going to be operated by the state. And so a number of things had to happen before it could even... in order for it to even be considered to become a state monument, a historic site. And, it had to be listed on the State Register of Historic Places. It also had to be, it is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And there were a number of reports that essentially had to be done that determined kind of not only the home significance, but the location's significance, the significance of the area, Mesilla itself. And for New Mexico historic sites, the big question was, did this historic site, is the story that this historic site would tell different than what other historic sites throughout the state would tell? Other historic sites at the state, for example, include Coronado Historic Site in Bernalillo, Lincoln Historic Site, Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner. And so did this tell a different story? And so we had to go through all of those steps before it could be legislatively designated.
KC Counts:
How can you say you met that, you know, requirement and why is the story different?
Alexandra McKinney:
So that's an excellent question. And the reason being because the town of Mesilla is actually significant in New Mexico history, particularly 19th century New Mexico history. The town of Mesilla really did set witness to a lot of really key borderland stories. And that is the thing that sets Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site apart is it really does tell that borderland story because when the Mexican-American War ended, all of this large swath of what is now southwestern United States land was ceded to the United States. Mesilla had been a location that people had been coming to for hundreds of years before that, but really hadn't been formally settled as a community. And at the time, it was on the west side of the Rio Grande River. Today, it's on the east side, but at the time, it was on the west side. And so it was in Mexico. And so there was a lot of Mexican citizens who just hopped the river and resettled back into Mexico, settling Mesilla. Mesilla became this focal point, the central piece for what ultimately became the fight for where that international borderline would be drawn. By 1853, the borderline was redrawn, and now you have this community once again on American territory, and it becomes the cultural, political, and commercial centerpiece for southern New Mexico for the next generation.
KC Counts:
Why don't you tell us a little bit about some of the special things that are inside the home?
Alexandra McKinney:
Oh, Boy, I would have to narrow that down. It's so hard to pick. The home is 6,000 square feet. We have got thousands and thousands of art pieces in that home. I mean, you know, the thing about that house is that you can come into it multiple times and see something new every single time because every wall is covered with incredible art. We're talking about furniture, fine art, contemporary art, textiles. Some of my favorite pieces are some of, there's a few paintings that I love. There's one called Little It's by Betty Hummer. It's just this very intricately painted beautiful piece of a little child, and she's like got her finger in her ear, and it's just so sweet. We've got some beautiful pieces of religious artwork by some very unique artists that you wouldn't necessarily think about, including a former music producer from the Beatles era. And, you know, the home is different because it's lived in. And so unlike other historic homes that you walk into, to where you're not allowed into the rooms or things are covered by plexi; there's artifact labels. You're not going to see that here because the home remains looking like it was when the family lived there. And so you really do get to experience it the way that they did.
KC Counts:
How can people visit the Taylor Mesia Historic Site?
Alexandra McKinney:
We are open Wednesday through Sunday from 8:30 until 4. They can visit any time during those periods. We have two different kinds of experiences when they visit. If you come Wednesday through Sunday, 8:30 to 4, you can have what's called our self-guided experience. This will actually get you into about 1/2 of the home, about 8 or 9 spaces of the home you'll be able to either go into or look into. And then at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock, Wednesdays through Saturdays, we have guided tours which take you through all of this spaces of the home. And right now, those guided tours are capped at 15 people. And so we always recommend that you buy your ticket ahead of time. You can get your ticket at our website. But when you come to visit us, if you take the self-guided tour, you can explore at your own pace, those self-guided areas, stay as long as you want. We always have a volunteer or a staff member on site to be able to answer any questions that you might have. We've got some digital kiosks inside that will allow you to still peek into some of those other spaces that aren't available unless you're on a guided tour. But that is kind of the experiences that you can have when you come visit our site.
KC Counts:
What kind of investment did it take to get to this point?
Alexandra McKinney:
You know, it took a huge lift. We like to say that it was a big lift and it took investment from the... the state. It took investment from the town of Mesilla. It took investment from the Taylor family itself. We were very lucky to have such strong involvement from the state of New Mexico. The Department of Cultural Affairs really did put every ounce of energy that it could have behind this project. And we also had significant backing from local legislators in getting capital outlay that we needed in order to make this happen. The unique thing about this project is the Taylor family, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, retained a life tenancy when they donated the home. And so we didn't actually really begin the process of opening it publicly in full until after J. Paul Taylor passed in 2023. And so we essentially opened this historic site two years and nine months after his passing. It was a very quick turnaround, so very big lift that required quite the process. And it took all of us, the Taylor family, the town of Mesilla, the state of New Mexico, everybody really worked very hard to make this happen.
KC Counts:
Tell us a little bit about your background and why you found yourself working in this field.
Alexandra McKinney:
So I am actually a sixth generation New Mexican. I grew up in Albuquerque, actually. I've always loved my home state of New Mexico, but I always assumed that when I graduated college, I would leave the state. And I was going to be a classroom teacher and then happened to overhear in a history class in college one day, a couple of people talking about, you know, just kill me if you ever find me in the basement of a museum one day. And my entire life changed from that moment on. I was like, oh, that's what I want to do. And so I went to grad school in Florida for public history. And when I was in Florida studying local history in Florida, I thought, I want to come home. I want to come home and do this at home. And came back to New Mexico and moved to Las Cruces so that I could have this job here. And I've been here for nearly eight years. And I, I had the absolute unique pleasure of working directly with J. Paul Taylor for five years before he passed, getting to know his vision, getting to know his family, getting to know his home from their perspective. And it is not a thing you get to do in my field, getting to know the person with whom the historic site is named for. And so that is an incredible blessing to me, and it gives me a different perspective of the story that I didn't think I'd have. But my love is teaching. My love is, I love to teach. I love to make things interesting for people that they may never have found interesting. And that's the great thing about museums. You don't have to come to a museum, but when you come to a museum, you end up learning something new, and it's exciting and fun. And so that is my job, is to open up that world for you.
KC Counts:
What can you say about your conversations with J. Paul Taylor and kind of the insight that you got through that experience and what you take with you into the future from him?
Alexandra McKinney:
He had, first of all, he had this really unique ability to make you feel like you were the only person in the room that mattered. It didn't matter who he was talking to. That was his focus. And we live in a world where everything is so disjointed. Like I can have a conversation with you, but I'd be texting somebody else on my phone. I'm scrolling on Instagram, but also on the TV. And that is not how he rolled. He focused on you and remembered you. He had a memory unlike any others. And what that also then translated into is this really unique love of New Mexico. And so while I always loved my home state, he taught me how to love it better and to love it differently. And that is, for me, I think that the, gosh, I'm going to cry when I say this, the love of New Mexico that I didn't have before that sort of was fostered and grown just through talking to him about his love of New Mexico, I will carry with me forever.
KC Counts:
Thank you so much for telling us about the Taylor Mesilla Historic Site. Where to go for more information?
Alexandra McKinney:
You can visit us at nmhistoricsites.org, or if you search Taylor Mesilla Historic Site on Facebook, you will find us right there.
KC Counts:
All right, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.
Alexandra McKinney:
Thank you so much.
