Editing Las Cruces, New Mexico (section)

==History==
[[File:St. Genevieve Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico, dedicated on October 15, 1887.jpg|thumb|left|St. Genevieve Church in 1887]]
During the [[Mexican–American War]], the [[Battle of El Bracito]] was fought nearby on Christmas Day, 1846. The settlement of Las Cruces was founded in 1849, when the [[US Army]] first surveyed the town, thus opening up the area for American settlement. The town was first surveyed as the result of the American acquisition of the land surrounding Las Cruces, which later became the [[New Mexico Territory]]. This land had been ceded to the United States as a result of the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] of 1848, which ended the Mexican-American War.<ref name="Harris History" />{{Rp|36,40}} The town was named Las Cruces (Spanish: "the crosses") after three crosses that its earliest settlers had reported seeing just north of the town. The crosses were thought to be "either marked graves or were similar to roadside memorials called ''descansos''".<ref name=":1">{{cite web | year = 2012 | url = https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/62371243/historic-las-cruces | title= Historic Las Cruces | last = Schurtz | first = Christopher | publisher = Historical Publishing Network | accessdate = 2021-06-28}} See pages 9&ndash;11.</ref>

Initially, Mesilla became the leading settlement of the area, with more than 2,000 residents in 1860, more than twice what Las Cruces had; at that time, Mesilla had a population primarily of Mexican descent.<ref name="Harris History" />{{Rp|48}} When the [[Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway]] reached the area, the landowners of Mesilla refused to sell it the rights-of-way, and instead residents of Las Cruces donated the rights-of-way and land for a depot in Las Cruces.<ref name="Harris History" />{{Rp|58}} The first train reached Las Cruces in 1881.<ref name="Harris History" />{{Rp|62}} Las Cruces was not affected as strongly by the train as some other villages, as it was not a terminus or a crossroads, but the population did grow to 2,300 in the 1880s. Las Cruces was incorporated as a town in 1907.<ref name="Harris History" />{{Rp|135}}<ref name="Harris History" />{{Rp|63}}
[[File:The land of sunshine; a handbook of the resources, products, industries and climate of New Mexico (1904) (14800304523).jpg|thumb|left|[[Doña Ana County, New Mexico|Doña Ana County]] courthouse, 1904]]
[[Pat Garrett]] is best known for his involvement in the [[Lincoln County War]], but he also worked in Las Cruces on a famous case, the disappearance of [[Albert Jennings Fountain]] in 1896.<ref name="Harris History" />{{Rp|68}}

[[New Mexico State University]] was founded in 1888, and it has grown as Las Cruces has grown. The growth of Las Cruces has been attributed to the university, government jobs, and recent retirees. 
[[File:New Mexico State University Goddard Hall (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|[[Goddard Hall (New Mexico State University)|Goddard Hall]] was built in 1913.]]
The establishment of [[White Sands Missile Range]] in 1944 and [[White Sands Test Facility]] in 1963 has been integral to population growth. Las Cruces is the nearest city to each, and they provide Las Cruces' workforce with many high-paying, stable, government jobs. In recent years, the influx of retirees from out of state has also increased Las Cruces' population.

In the 1960s, Las Cruces undertook a large [[urban renewal]] project, intended to convert the old downtown into a modern city center.<ref name="Harris History" />{{Rp|115}} As part of this, St. [[Genevieve]]'s Catholic Church, built in 1859, was razed to make way for a downtown [[pedestrian mall]].<ref name="Harris History" />{{Rp|44,75,115}} The original covered walkways have been removed in favor of a more traditional main-street thoroughfare.

On February 10, 1990, seven people were shot, four fatally, in the [[Las Cruces bowling alley massacre]].  The incident remains unsolved.