Rio Grande Historical Collections Photographs, 1885-1950s

The NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections houses about two million items in its photographic collections, with materials that cover more than 150 years of image making in New Mexico, the U.S./Mexico border region, and the Southwest. The photographs provide visual documentation of all aspects of the region’s history, with an emphasis on the unique cultural heritage of the area.

The collections provide a striking visual representation of social history, material culture, ranching, mining, agriculture, water and irrigation, the development, expansion, and sometimes abandonment of population centers, and the landscape of New Mexico. The materials come from family photograph collections as well as the collections of several major southern New Mexico photographic studios. Nearly all photographic processes are represented in the collections, from daguerreotypes and other cased images, negatives on glass and film, and a multitude of print processes, to digital photography. Please direct any questions regarding photographs from our collections to archives@nmsu.edu.