Cerrillos Hills opens history center

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - There's centuries' worth of mining history in them there hills, and the state now has a venue to celebrate it.

Display cases remain empty and pictures still need to be hung in the exhibit room, but when Cerrillos Hills State Park holds a grand opening for its new, 2,715-square-foot visitor center Saturday, the public will get a small taste of how prospectors once scoured the surrounding land for turquoise, zinc, manganese, galena and copper.

"Now we have the history," said Peter Lipscomb, regional interpretive ranger for the northwestern territory of New Mexico State Parks. "Out there (in the park) is the context."

The new center also features a separate room for events. Natural light pours through the room's three sets of double doors, which lead out to the north portal and provide views toward the park.

The multipurpose space, called the Centennial Room, will be used for educational and outreach programs and can eventually be rented out, according to Christy Tafoya, acting field support bureau chief for the state parks.

"It's not our biggest visitor center, but it's got some unique features," said Tafoya, adding that the building was designed to suit the character of the surrounding community.

Crews incorporated local materials into the building. The quarrystone that accents the parapets and portal posts comes from nearby Waldo, while the adobe bricks used for the building came from Alcalde, Lipscomb said.

The new building cost $500,000, according to Tafoya, while the adjacent shop building was $161,000. Construction began in March 2011 and concluded in December.

Prior to the new visitor center, park staff worked out of an old house on the same site.

The park, located approximately a half-mile north of the visitor center, drew more than 5,700 visitors in 2011.

It offers five miles of trails along the juniper-speckled hills and scenic views of the Galisteo Basin. There are also safeguarded mine shafts throughout.

The visitor center - which will also serves as staff office space - will display a few images from the state's Mining and Minerals Division collection showing miners in action circa 1880 and depicting their makeshift tent cities.

There will also be examples of the ores they sought as well as some of the items found by archaeologists excavating the property prior to the new center's construction.

Much of what was found points back to an 1890 fire that burned a whole row of buildings, businesses and homes on the block, Lipscomb said.

Saturday's festivities include a ceremony and ribbon-cutting, followed by hands-on activities, entertainment and refreshments. There will also be free admission to the park.

The Cerrillos Hills State Park Visitor Center is at 37 Main St. in Cerrillos, 16 miles south of Santa Fe via N.M. 14 and County Road 57.