The Las Cruces Railroad Museum hosts a free “Brown Bag Lecture” at noon on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. On April 9, Prince McKenzie will present “How the Railroads Arrived in Southern New Mexico, West Texas, and Northern Chihuahua, and the Economic Effect on the Southwest.”
New research uncovered by McKenzie shows the symbiotic relationship between the railroads and the military in the Southwest. In addition to making troop transport more efficient, the railroads had significant impact on the economy of the area, both military and civilian.
McKenzie received a B.A. in History from UTEP with graduate studies in Asian Culture, Photography/Art, and Art History. He curated and installed exhibits at the El Paso Museums of Art, Archaeology, and History. He is a coauthor of: Into the Desert Light, a book on early El Paso art from 1850-1960. He has been the Director of the Railroad & Transportation Museum of El Paso for fifteen years.
The museum is located at 351 N. Mesilla Street (RoadRUNNER Transit bus route 5, stop 17) and is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. For additional information, call (575) 528-3444 or visit the website at: http://museums.las-cruces.org/.