New Book Celebrates the History of Deming

Jan. 23, 2012 - PRLog -- New from Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Deming by local author Laura V. Krol. This pictorial history boasts more than 200 vintage images and provides readers with a unique opportunity to reconnect with the history that shaped their community.

Deming, New Mexico, has been an essential stop for transcontinental travelers for centuries. First, wagon roads went through the area in service of the Butterfield Overland Mail Company. On the same route, Fort Cummings was established for the protection of these wagon trains.

Later, Deming marked the site of the joining of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, which created the second transcontinental railroad in March 1881. This attracted numerous entrepreneurs and settlers to Deming. The railroad was also significant in the establishment of two military installations, Camp Cody (World War I) and Deming Army Air Field (World War II).

After the war, Highway 70-80 brought many tourists to Deming until Interstate 10 was built in the 1960s. Deming’s location, along with the railroad and highway system, created an economic climate that has brought people to the area for centuries in search of their place in the American West.

Highlights of Deming include:
•   Images of some of Deming’s oldest churches and buildings, including the Works Progress Administration’s buildings.
•   Vintage photographs of many businesses that are still in operation today such as Deming Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Deming Headlight, and Foxworth Galbraith Lumber Company
•   The Deming community during New Mexico’s centennial celebration.
•   Many of the vintage photographs featured in the book have never been published.

Laura Victoria Krol is a historian and educator in Deming, New Mexico. She has gathered over 200 vintage photographs that tell the vivid story of her hometown. The text reveals a multitude of historical facts about the devoted people and the fascinating places that make Deming unique in the history of the American West.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or www.arcadiapublishing.com.

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With more than 7,500 local history titles published to date, Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Widely recognized sepia books feature hundreds of vintage historical images.