About The borderer. [volume] (Las Cruces, N.M.) 1871-18??
Las Cruces, N.M. (1871-18??)

The Borderer

The Borderer was a weekly bilingual newspaper published in Las Cruces, New Mexico, from March 1871 until September 1875. Las Cruces is located on the banks of the Rio Grande in the Mesilla Valley of southern New Mexico. The exact origin of the town’s name remains uncertain, but several crosses marked a cemetery in the area in the 1840s. Las Cruces was established in 1849 following the Mexican-American War (1846-48). By 1870 the town had a population of around 1,300. The neighboring border community of Mesilla, under Mexican control until the Gadsden Purchase of 1854, remained the larger of the two towns with a population of well over 2,000. However, this changed with the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1881, which favored growth in Las Cruces.

N. V. Bennett served as publisher and proprietor of the Borderer, also called the Las Cruces Borderer. Originally from New York, Bennett had lived in Louisiana and Texas where he taught school. He also edited a paper in Minnesota prior to moving to New Mexico for health reasons. Bennett was an important member of the Democratic Party, and the Borderer staunchly espoused its views. Many issues carry the following statement in the paper’s prospectus: “In politics, The Borderer, will always maintain and defend the principles of the Democratic Party, believing that only through and adherence to those principles can the Union be brought back to a complete and restored unity, to prosperity and happiness.”

The July 24, 1872 issue states that the paper appeared every Wednesday, but by September of that year Bennett had changed the day of publication to Saturdays. Issues were four pages long. The third page, titled El Fronterizo, included news in Spanish. Some of these articles were translations of articles in the English sections; however, news also came from the Santa Fe New Mexican and Las Vegas Mail. Bennett explained in the March 29, 1873 issue that financial difficulties had forced him to discontinue El Fronterizo.  However, he revived the paper in September of 1874 and continued publishing it separately the following year. In 1875, Bennett’s poor health forced him to suspend both newspapers.

During its brief existence, the Borderer covered news related to mining in Silver City, New Mexico; the Modoc War (1872-73) in Oregon and California; and local and state politics. The subscription price in 1872 was $6.00 per year, but by May of 1873 it had dropped to $4.00. Advertisements in the Borderer featured dry goods stores, attorneys, photographers, dentists, mail and express lines, and clothing and general merchandise. Advertisements were placed on the left and right sides of the paper and often covered over half of the third and fourth pages.

Provided by: University of New Mexico