Celebrate the History of Las Vegas, N.M.

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Oct. 21, 2013 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Las Vegas from local author Mitch Barker. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by in this New Mexico community.

Las Vegas, N.M., is 70 years older than the Nevada city of the same name. Eleven years after its founding in 1835, it was the first settlement in Mexico reached by invading US troops in the Mexican-American War. In later years, it was an intensely violent place, an equal to Dodge City and Tombstone. Gunmen such as Billy the Kid, Mysterious Dave Mather, Doc Holliday and others walked the streets of Las Vegas.

The town also built grand houses and mercantile buildings. It rivaled Albuquerque and Santa Fe for importance and boasted one of the state’s two streetcar systems. Here, Teddy Roosevelt announced his availability to serve as president and Tom Mix filmed his earliest movies.

Highlights of Las Vegas include:

•Contains vintage images, the majority of which are from the Citizens Committee for Historic Preservation’s collection.
•Highlights some of the area’s businesses that have been lost over time, including the Santa Fe Railroad maintenance yards, the Gallinas Canyon ice ponds and the Las Vegas roller mill.
•Provides a rich source of architectural information, from early pictures of Fort Union and the Plaza to modern day images of the Las Vegas Police Station.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com/.