Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site opens Farm and Ranch Museum Culture Series Sept. 10
The Friends of the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum will open its 2026-27 Culture Series Sept. 10 with a free talk on the Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site.
Alexandra McKinney will discuss the Mesilla landmark’s history, preservation and role in interpreting Southern New Mexico’s borderlands past
Organ Mountain News report
LAS CRUCES - The Friends of the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum will open its 2026-27 Culture Series on Thursday, Sept. 10, with a free public program on the history and preservation of the Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site.
Alexandra McKinney, instructional coordinator supervisor at the historic site, will present “The Historical Significance of the Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site” at 7 p.m. at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road.
The program will focus on the property’s history and its role in interpreting Mesilla and Southern New Mexico.
Located on Mesilla Plaza, the Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site includes adobe buildings dating to the 1850s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site tells the story of Mesilla during the 19th century, when the community served as a political, commercial and social center in Southern New Mexico.
For more than 70 years, the property was home to former state legislator J. Paul Taylor and his wife, writer and photographer Mary Daniels Taylor. The family assembled a collection of Spanish Colonial, Mexican and New Mexican art, textiles and artifacts while living there.
The Taylor family donated the property to the state in 2003, and it was declared a state monument the following year. After an extensive restoration, the site opened to the public in November 2025 as part of New Mexico Historic Sites, a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
Speaker helped develop site interpretation
McKinney is a sixth-generation New Mexican and holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of New Mexico and a master’s degree in public history from the University of West Florida.
Her earlier work included classroom teaching and public history projects involving the National Park Service, the Pensacola Museum of History and the Missouri Humanities Council.
She joined New Mexico Historic Sites in 2018, working with Fort Selden Historic Site and Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site before moving full-time to Taylor-Mesilla in 2023.
McKinney also served as acting manager when the property transferred to the state and helped develop the site’s first visitor-center exhibit, tours, volunteer materials and school field-trip procedures.
Series continues through June
The Sept. 10 program is the first of 10 free evening events planned in the Culture Series through June 2027.
The series focuses on the culture, geography and history of Southern New Mexico. Updated program information is available at FarmAndRanchFriends.org.
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