Artesia Heritage

Lakewood, New Mexico         High 68 Low 48

It turned windy and a lot cooler today so we decided to wait to go to Carlsbad National Caverns until tomorrow.

We went to Artesia yesterday. Our first stop was the local quilt store, but we just looked this time.

Next door to the quilt shop there is a Heritage Park, which shows the history of the area on murals and a few signs. The first people to settle here were the Apache Indians. The Spanish were first here in the late 1500’s.

The white settlers and ranchers came here in the 1800’s. When the railroad came through, it made life a lot easier for the people. There are various statues throughout the downtown area which show some of the ways of life.

School Teacher and students.

There is also a statue of the first oil well drilling rig which was dedicated to the men and women and the hard work they went through to find the first commercial oil well in the area in 1950s.

Artesia is a lot bigger than we thought it was from driving down the highway as we went through a few days ago. We enjoyed learning a little about the history of the area.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a nicer day and we hope to get to Carlsbad.

Thanks for visiting.