A History of the Mesilla Valley - 1903

Maude Elizabeth McFie (Bloom) knew whereof she wrote. In 1903, as a senior at New Mexico A&M, she knew those and their descendants, who created the history of the Mesilla Valley. Much of her material came from oral interviews: the intrepid men and women who settled the Doa Ana Bend Colony Grant, and the other grants in the Valley; members of the Missouri Volunteers who marched South through the Valley to El Paso, participating in the Battle of Brazito along the way; the California Column which arrived from the West during the Civil War, bringing men who settled here. The McFie family was also active in the history of the Valley. John R. McFie, Maude's father was president of the original Board of Regents for the newly created New Mexico A&M College. All five children, including three girls, added college or university--an unusual circumstance for the time. Lansing B. Bloom, Maude's husband, edited the thesis more than fifty years ago with the idea of publishing it. Jo Tice Bloom, Maude's daughter-in-law, undertook to continue the project. Her introduction about the family and previously unpublished family photographs show Maude as a fascinating and accomplished woman. This senior thesis remains an important source for historians and researchers. Now available in bound form, it will continue to provide facts and pleasure to readers and researchers.