On the Road in New Mexico: The Other Las Vegas

My friend Kim and I drove into the Wild West the other day. We did so by crossing east over a mountain pass—ascending and then descending the Sangre de Cristos—before entering onto the wide-open edge of the Great Plains. What a revelation! 

Ever since I arrived in Truchas, I’ve heard that the King of Spain granted land to colonists at points along the Sangres where passes allowed marauding Comanches easy access from the plains. This was done to protect the Spanish colonies that were struggling to take root in the valley along the Rio Grande. But until I made this journey myself, I just didn’t get it.

The plains are right there, just over the mountain from my home. Spilling out before me as I made my way down the eastern slope was the beginning of that broad expanse of flat land, the grasslands—the vast American prairie.

More specifically, I entered the old Wild West via the historic town of Las Vegas, New Mexico, settled fully 70 years before that other Las Vegas in Nevada. In fact, I once lived just an hour away from that city of glitz and glitter, a place I avoided like the plague. This Las Vegas, however, is real. It is old. It was once a thriving metropolis, bristling with promise—and it was wild.

Las Vegas, New Mexico, came into being in 1835 when the Mexican government granted land to colonists. It was laid out in the traditional Spanish Colonial style: a central plaza surrounded by buildings into which settlers and livestock could be barricaded in case of attack. The town prospered reasonably along the Santa Fe Trail, so much so that a second Las Vegas sprung up one mile east of the old plaza in 1879, following the arrival of the railway.

^{In 1879 the railroad came to Las Vegas, changing the town forever}

Separated from “Old Town” by the Gallinas River, “New Town” developed its own distinctive character. “A wave of non-Spanish immigrants laid out a grid of streets and parks reminiscent of Eastern cities and built block after maple-and-elm-shaded block of Victorian houses that still remain—Queen Anne, Italianate, Georgian Revival or mixed styles,” notes Ernest Quintana, chairman of the Las Vegas Citizens’ Committee for Historic Preservation, in a New York Times article. 

As different as they were, both cultures learned to coexist. Ultimately, the two towns merged into one. What remains today is a conglomerate of nine historic districts; despite a population of only about 15,000 people, the town boasts over 900 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The railroad brought commerce, and with it, the potential to make a fortune. The town was filled with promise, and for a couple of decades—one in particular—it delivered. But the railroad also brought trouble. Drawn by the allure of easy money, a darker element soon flooded the thriving frontier boomtown. Las Vegas drew “… a large number of frontier riff-raff including murderers, robbers, thieves, gamblers, swindlers, gunmen, vagrants, and just plain tramps,” writes Dan Kenneth Phillips on his blog, Dan’s Daily Web-Blog. He quotes historian Ralph Emerson Twitchell, who noted, “Without exception there was no town which harbored a more disreputable gang of desperadoes and outlaws than did Las Vegas.”

Some of the West’s most famous names passed through, including Doc Holliday, who set up a dental practice there, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, and Wyatt Earp. Bob Ford, the outlaw best known for killing his gang leader, Jesse James, even owned a local saloon. While Ford earned his living in later years by posing for photographs as “the man who killed Jesse James,” he was not highly regarded in town, having betrayed James by shooting him in the back.

Yet, at the same time that lawlessness was thriving in Las Vegas, legitimate business was as well. Most interesting to me were a couple of the local hotels. The first was situated six miles away from the main rail line, though a railway “spur” was built just to bring guests to the hotel and its adjacent hot springs. The building that stands there today is actually the third structure on the site, the first two having been lost to fire. Completed in 1885, it is a striking brick-and-stone Queen Anne style castle. The proprietors contracted with Fred Harvey—the creator of the nation’s first restaurant chain, known as Harvey Houses—to manage the hotel and dining service. “For the wealthy clientele, fresh vegetables and fruit were obtained in Mexico and foreign delicacies were imported,” writes Lynn Irwin Perrigo in the book Gateway to Glorietta.

The spa’s famous clientele included Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt, not to mention outlaws like Jesse James and Billy the Kid. Today, the building is part of the United World College campus. Now called Montezuma Castle, it serves as a student residence and classroom space, meaning it is closed to the general public. However, limited tours are available on designated Saturdays (you can call 505-426-3361 to inquire).

The other hotel that caught my eye was the boarded-up, once-luxurious brick Castañeda. Built by the Santa Fe Railroad alongside the track in New Town in 1898, it was leased to the Fred Harvey System. It is a stunning structure. Even in its sad state of decline, it was easy to envision gracious breakfasts on the veranda or afternoon tea. It is unfortunate that there seem to be no plans in the works to restore this beautiful old piece of history. If only I had millions, it is a project I would gladly take on.

I wandered through this Old West town for an entire day, but I know I didn’t even scratch the surface. I’m already planning on going back sometime soon, perhaps in the fall once the weather has cooled. I really wanted to dip into the hot springs, but it was 98 degrees the day I visited—not exactly conducive to a soak in steaming water. I did, however, have a terrific lunch at the charming, historic, fourth-generation Estella’s Cafe, and I will be doing a follow-up post about that experience very soon.

Editor’s Note (2026): This piece was originally published in 2012. Happily, since then, the historic Castañeda Hotel has undergone a masterful restoration and officially reopened to the public!

Love to you all,
Jeane