The first Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe (AT&SF) train arrived in Las Cruces on April 26, 1881, and passenger service continued until 1968. The first depot was a wood frame building that was later moved on flatcars down the line to Al Tuna (present day Anthony, TX). The wood frame building provided passenger and freight services, a telegraph office, and housing for the Railroad Agent.
In 1910, a Mission Revival style building replaced the frame depot. The new structure was a variation of the Santa Fe’s standard county seat design. The new depot featured separate men’s and women’s waiting rooms, a ticket window, and an expanded freight section. It also had a small newsstand, operated by the Fred Harvey company. In the 1960s, the number of people traveling by rail decreased while freight service increased. To serve the additional freight business, the railroad built a sixty-foot freight addition in 1961.
Passenger service to Las Cruces stopped in 1968. Cheaper freight rates offered by truck or plane service brought an end to local train service in 1988. The Depot was purchased by the City of Las Cruces in 1992. The tracks west of the depot are presently owned and operated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Company. Freight trains still use the tracks, and trains come from El Paso, Albuquerque and points beyond, delivering and picking up train cars for local and regional businesses.
