Freelance writer Christopher Schurtz can be reached at cschurtz@zianet.com.
LAS CRUCES - A century ago, people came to the New Mexico Territory, drawn by its agricultural possibilities, mineral wealth, and rugged beauty.
But some came to save their own lives.
From the 1880s through the 1930s, thousands of people suffering from tuberculosis came to New Mexico and the Mesilla Valley. New Mexico's dry air and altitude offered one of the only treatments available for the disease, which was then one of the leading causes of death in America.
Tuberculosis sanitariums were established around the territory, and in Las Cruces, the most prominent was the Alameda Ranch Resort, located on a large farm near what is now the corner of Hoagland Road and North Alameda Boulevard.
Though suburban housing now covers the original grounds, a sprawling, 120-year-old house remains at the west end of Townsend Terrace, preserved by owners with a unique link to the home's past.
A 'lungers' resort
The first mention of the Alameda came in the early 1890s, when J.K. Livingston opened a resort for "health seekers" on a large farm a mile north of Las Cruces.
The annual 1892 report to the Territorial Governor reported Livingston had "recently erected a model home hotel, bowered in trees, surrounded by a small but beautiful ranch. For people who are sick, or even desiring a rest, it is a most delightful location."
The resort included an 11-room, Territorial-style adobe main house with a large dining room, kitchen, bedrooms, staff offices and reading rooms. Livingston also built a two-story, 20-room dormitory to the northeast of the main house.
Livingston operated the Alameda at least until the late 1890s, when the property was sold, possibly as a result of legal issues Livingston was having with business partner Col. Eugene Van Patten, who ran his own health resort in Dripping Springs.
In June 1904, local widow Edith Bowyer sold the Alameda and the surrounding acreage to Dr. Robert E. McBride, a physician from Louisiana.
McBride's own wife reportedly suffered from tuberculosis, and he bought the Alameda with the intent of transforming the health resort into a proper medical sanitarium.
McBride, with significant help from manager R.W. Favrot, improved the buildings and set up tents outside the dormitory. He advertised in national papers and published an informational pamphlet written by Favrot that promotes the Mesilla Valley's dry, sunny climate, which "is so mild, so salubrious, that it offers the greatest attraction to the stricken."
Inside the Alameda Ranch Resort, the furniture was "simple and convenient" but carpets and rugs were "studiously avoided."
"Every attempt is made to provide air - the wholesome dry air that is the life-giving blessing of this valley," the pamphlet states.
Patients were provided chairs to sit long hours outside, and were encouraged to eat as much as possible. A windmill provided fresh groundwater.
The Alameda also offered croquet and lawn tennis, and, for a cost of 50 cents a ride, field trips to Las Cruces, Van Patten's Resort or the Shalem Colony eight miles north of town.
Bedding was cleaned frequently, and sanitation was "the highest priority."
Topping the list of rules at the Alameda was a ban on spitting, one of the unfortunate side effects of the lung disease.
"Expectoration about the premises is one of the gravest infractions of our rules," the pamphlet states. "Cupsidors are placed about the grounds and on the porches. Sputum cups are furnished to those who require them. Guests are requested not to cough in the dining room."
The cost to stay at a sanitarium wasn't cheap, even at modest locations like the Alameda, which charged $12 a week for room and board. Most treatments required at least a six-month stay, if not much longer, meaning only the well-to-do could afford the treatment.
Sanitarium decline
It is unclear how long McBride operated the sanitarium. Most sanitariums closed by the early 1930s, largely due to the Depression and changing opinions of the effectiveness of a dry climate in treatment.
As one of the only doctors in the area, McBride more and more found himself practicing general medicine for the local population.
By 1908, the McBrides were selling off parcels in what the Rio Grande Republican called the "McBride subdivision on the Alameda Boulevard." At the same time, McBride began to get involved in local politics and civic issues.
In 1919, county records indicate McBride sold the Alameda to S.E. Shull, a Christian minister who briefly worked for the local Y.M.C.A.
Shull later sold the property, according to county land records, in 1925 to Vincent and Mirian May, old friends of Dr. McBride.
Vincent May, a prominent political and business leader, had served with McBride on the Board of Regents of New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts. In 1912, the two were among other partners in developing the Fort Selden Hot Springs Resort and National Spa, according to the Rio Grande Republican.
In 1935, McBride established the first clinic in Las Cruces, in a house on Water Street, which became known as McBride Hospital.
Preserving the Alameda
The Mays remained in the old Alameda house, installing a metal roof that's still there. The old two-story dormitory, deemed structurally unsafe, was torn down.
After Vincent died, Mirian rented out rooms during World War II, and stored piles of goods from the May family's old dry goods store.
The house fell into disrepair over the years, as modern housing development began to fill in around the Hoagland neighborhood by the 1960s.
In 1977, the Do a Ana Historical Society honored the May House as a building worthy of preservation. And Mirian's great-niece Victoria and her husband, Alan Holmes, who moved into the house after her death, seemed up for that task.
The Holmeses cleaned out rooms full of old dry goods, wood trunks and papers, and only replaced things that could not be saved.
The house still has its original wood floors, 10-foot-high doors, various fixtures, and even a rose bush planted by Mirian, as well as most of the century-old glass windows.
"We've tried our best not to change anything," said Al Holmes, a historian who just published a book about Fort Selden through Sunstone Press.
"Also, you just don't want to make (the ghost of) Aunt Mirian mad. The house is fine the way it is," added Vicki Holmes.
The Holmeses say the house still draws curious passers-by, and even some who remember it from their childhood, before it was fixed up, as a somewhat creepy - and perhaps haunted - house, at the end of a semi-cul-de-sac.
"There are older parents who come up with kids trick-or-treating who ask us "Does that old witch still live here?" One guy in his 40s told us 'that house used to scare the hell out of us.'" Al Holmes said.
The Holmeses hired local carver Richard Gonzales to transform an old thick mulberry tree in front of the house, which neighborhood kids used to call "the murder tree," into a statue of Saint Francis.
They said they'd like to try to get the house placed on New Mexico listing of historical properties.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_16725652
Hello. I have a couple of questions. Has the building on the corner of Alameda and Hoagland ever been investigating by any paranormal groups? Same question goes for the Shalem Colony orphanage.
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