Nuestra Historia -
Trinidad goes to Washington by Jesus Lopez
Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 4:07 pm (Updated: April 14, 5:24 pm)
Originally Printed in the Las Vegas Optic
As concerns the next several columns in particular, I humbly acknowledge the scholarly writings of Ralph Emerson Twitchell, Lynn Perrigo and Maurilio Vigil, as well as the personal history imparted to me by John Paul Taylor and by my dear friend since childhood, Arabella Romero Aragon, Don Miguel Romero’s great-great-granddaughter.
Even before Don Miguel died in 1881, his five sons had emerged as the undisputed leaders of the Las Vegas community, and leading citizens of New Mexico. As their financial success grew, so too did their dominance in government, law enforcement and politics. In the limited space of these columns, we will try to do justice to the long and storied accomplishments of Trinidad, Eugenio, Hilario, Benigno and Margarito, and their indelible impact on Las Vegas and New Mexico.
As you read their stories, remember that at the time, Las Vegas was the commercial and political center of New Mexico, perhaps in part because of Don Miguel and his remarkable sons. Our town had not yet been eclipsed by Albuquerque, and it was here that the major events and affairs of the day occurred. In all New Mexico, Las Vegas was the place to be, and Las Vegas was run by the Romero brothers.
Trinidad was the oldest, born in 1835. He was educated in the family home by private tutors, and with his father established the family’s first mercantile company on the Old Town Plaza. In 1878 they housed the business in their new two-story brick building at the southwest end of the Plaza. It was a smaller-scale version of the Plaza Hotel, which would be erected a few years later by Trinidad’s brother, Benigno. Branch stores were later opened in Albuquerque and Wagon Mound, and for many years the Romero mercantile business was the largest in the entire southwest.
Trinidad also had extensive ranching interests in both San Miguel and Mora counties, owning 60,000 sheep and 8,000 head of cattle. His largest ranching operation was near Wagon Mound, where he made his home in his later years.
In 1876 Trinidad was elected as New Mexico’s sole territorial delegate to Congress, he and his brothers by then having established a solid reputation throughout the territory. Trinidad was one of our first delegates in Congress to advocate statehood for New Mexico, although it would not happen for another four decades. During his time in Washington, he represented New Mexico honorably, and gained the respect and admiration of all who met him.
Trinidad is also remembered for erecting two incredibly large and beautiful homes, which were nothing less than mansions, even by today’s standards. The first was a sprawling one-story 23-room house on South Gonzales Street, about a block from the Plaza. Trinidad sold it to Charles Ilfeld, who made it his family home, and it later became known as the Ilfeld mansion. (The home burned to the ground in the 1960s, when it served as the administration building of the West Las Vegas Schools).
In 1880 Trinidad built his second home, a 32-room mansion in Romeroville, where he and his wife Valeria (Lopez) lived for many years. They entertained visitors from throughout the United States in the stately and luxurious edifice, which was destroyed by fire in 1932.
In 1899, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Trinidad U.S. Marshal for the New Mexico territory, then a highly prestigious and powerful position. (His nephew Secundino would later hold the same position). At the time the U.S. Marshal was in fact the top law enforcement official in all the territory, there being no FBI or state police or other police agency or network of any kind. It was during this time that Trinidad and his brother Eugenio were the acknowledged leaders (bosses) of the then-dominant Republican Party in New Mexico.
Trinidad was 83 when he died in Las Vegas in 1918. He had eight children, and several of his descendants still live in New Mexico. Notable among them is Trinidad’s grandson, John Paul Taylor, who served many years as a state representative from Doña Ana County. Taylor, now in his 90s, owns an extensive collection of Romero family papers, portraits, photographs and other memorabilia, which together with his home in Mesilla, he has donated to the state of New Mexico as a museum.
Trinidad Romero will always be a giant in Las Vegas history, but must be shared with the entire state, because he was one of the first to ably demonstrate that native Hispanos could compete and lead, even in Washington, as New Mexico was slowly becoming part of the United States.
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Next: The formidable Don Eugenio.
Jesus L. Lopez is a native of Las Vegas and a local historian. He may be reached at 425-3730.
