SENATE MEMORIAL 64

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Nancy Rodriguez

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO DECLARE JULY 23, 2016 "HISTORIC LOS LUCEROS DAY" IN NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, Los Luceros is a one-hundred-forty-eight-acre property of great historic, cultural and natural value, located in the Espanola valley near Alcalde; and

     WHEREAS, Los Luceros was purchased by the state to enable the public to have greater access to the property; and

     WHEREAS, the cultural affairs department, which purchased the Los Luceros property from the family of Frank and Ann Cabot in 2008, is the state's cultural steward and is working to ensure the site's preservation and integrity in perpetuity; and

     WHEREAS, the state gained ownership of Los Luceros with the aim of providing public access to the historic property, developing a retreat center for workshops, conducting seminars connected to New Mexico's film industry and providing a site for crop testing and environmental studies programs; and

     WHEREAS, the estate was first owned by Luis Maria Ortiz, a seventh-generation descendant of colonists who arrived with Don Diego de Vargas in 1692, for whom the main house, or casa grande, was constructed; and

     WHEREAS, the property existed under the jurisdiction of Spanish and Mexican governments for two hundred eighteen years; and

     WHEREAS, Mary Cabot Wheelwright, the founder of a museum that now bears her name, purchased the property in 1923 and lived there until her death in 1958; and

     WHEREAS, Mary Cabot Wheelwright's heirs purchased the property and invested in a major renovation of the property; and

     WHEREAS, the structures on the grounds include a casa grande, which at one time was used as the county seat; an old jail; a new visitors' center; a river house; and other buildings of historical significance; and

     WHEREAS, the grounds also include old orchards, a bosque and irrigated pastures, all of which provide habitat for at least one hundred sixty-two species of both migratory and non-migratory birds, as well as many species of mammals and reptiles; and

     WHEREAS, Los Luceros has been listed on the national register of historic places since 1983; and

     WHEREAS, los amigos del rancho Los Luceros, a nonprofit organization, will be hosting an open house to let New Mexicans see and experience this historic northern New Mexico treasure on July 23, 2016;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor be requested to declare July 23, 2016 "Historic Los Luceros Day" in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the president of New Mexico state university and the chair of los amigos del rancho Los Luceros.

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