Video (8min 39sec) Visit to New Mexico in the 1940s. A tour of New Mexico, its cities, historical sites and tourist attractions. "In the heart of the great southwest between Arizona and Texas, and bordering on the Republic of Mexico, lies 'the Sunshine State' in this land of ours - the State of New Mexico. One of the largest yet one of the least populated of all of our states, New Mexico was admitted to the Union as recently as 1912.
"Centuries before the Spaniards came, the region was inhabited by Indians who developed a high degree of civilization. They lived in huge communal houses. When Francisco Vasquez de Coronado explored this region in the early part of the 16th century he called these strange villages 'pueblos'.
"Today descendants of the Indians of Coronado's day still inhabit this region. Many still live the simple existence of their forefathers. Baking bread using methods discovere long before Columbus discovered America and making shoes the way their ancestors did many centuries before.
One of the most colorful periods of New Mexico's history is associated with the westward expansion of our nation. Here at Taos, lived Kit Carson, famous scout and Indian fighter..."
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