History on display, John R. McFie Gallery opens

Thanks to a generous gift from the grandson of one of NMSU’s founders, the John R. McFie Gallery of NMSU History has been established. The endowment gift from John Porter Bloom honors John R. McFie’s legacy at the university and supports the Archives and Special Collections department.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the John R. McFie Gallery of NMSU History was held in June 2024 on the fourth floor of Branson Library at the NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections department. The McFie Gallery of NMSU History will feature exhibitions related to former faculty, staff, students and administrators who have played important roles in the development and culture of NMSU.

The endowment also will provide funding for the Archives and Special Collections for several important initiatives: a research fellowship, student employment and internships in the Archives; new collection acquisitions related to New Mexico and border history; and lectures on borderlands history.

“Financial gifts like Dr. Bloom’s endowment are essential to the success of NMSU Library and its Archives and Special Collections Department,” NMSU Library Dean Kevin Comerford says. “This support provides both recognition to an important figure in southern New Mexico history and opportunities to help today’s students succeed. That’s a winning combination for the Las Cruces community, the university and the library.”

Bloom is known as a public historian and was co-founder and later president of the Western History Association. He spent 17 years as a senior specialist for Western history at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. Bloom’s mother, Maude McFie, was a 1903 NMSU graduate. 

McFie served a key role in the establishment of Las Cruces College in 1888, and his contributions included organizing and presiding over meetings of leading Las Cruces and Mesilla Valley residents, serving as president of the Las Cruces College Board of Trustees, and serving as the first president of the Board of Regents of the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.  

“In 1889, the territorial legislature was moving to establish an agricultural college in New Mexico. On the first day of the legislative session, three bills were introduced to locate the agricultural college either in Albuquerque, Socorro or Las Vegas,” Archives and Special Collections Department Head Dennis Daily ’95 says. “McFie led a committee of Mesilla Valley residents to argue for setting up the college in Las Cruces. Their efforts paid off in February, when the legislature passed the Rodey Act, establishing the agricultural college at Las Cruces.”