A history of Portales,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Portales from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The US territorial settlement of Portales occurred in the late 19th century as cattle herders discovered a water source emanating from a rocky ledge resembling a Spanish porch. The local watering hole took on the name "Portales", and a few settlers began ranching nearby. The Pecos Valley and Northeastern Railroad arrived in 1899. The City of Portales was formally established in 1909. The first mayor of Portales was Washington Ellsworth Lindsey, who later became a governor of New Mexico.
The town developed in an orderly fashion through the early 20th century.
In particular, given its access to the Ogallala Aquifer, improved surface irrigation techniques supported steady growth in agriculture.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Portales’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewPortales, New Mexico. Dust blowin…, 1942: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Portales
See all 9 →
Portales, decade by decade
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Portales, New Mexico. Dust blowing on the main street (1942) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Historic places
National Register · via Wikidata
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (4) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.