Las Cruces: Crossroads of the southwest

LAS CRUCES (KRQE) - Before there was a city of Las Cruces the name described a place where crosses marked the graves of travelers killed on the Spanish royal road connecting the interior of Mexico with the remote northern capital of Santa Fe. It would not be until 1849, after war turned the northern reaches of Old Mexico into a territory of the United States, that Army engineers laid out a grid of streets now grown into the state's second-biggest city with an economy rooted in agriculture, education, retirement and space exploration.

For many decades Las Cruces served as a crossroads for travelers and a commercial center for farmers and ranchers. But after World War Two the opening of what is now Whites Sands Missile Range launched rockets into space and the local economy to new heights. The small-town college became New Mexico State University expanding into high-tech fields while continuing to support its land-grant mission to improve agriculture. The growth of the state's chile industry is attributed in large part to research and the development of new chile strains at NMSU.

Retirement opportunities and year-round recreation also contributed to the growth of Las Cruces which now has a population of about 90,000 within the city and more than 200,000 in the metropolitan area. The city offers ready access to winter sports in the Sacramento Mountains, hunting, fishing and camping in the Gila National Forest and business and cultural connections to nearby El Paso, Texas, and Cíudad Juarez, Chihuahua. Among its annual events is the Whole Enchilada Fiesta offering entertainment, food and a chance to taste the world's largest enchilada.