Went to historic Mesilla for lunch today. This cute old town was incorporated in 1848. During the Civil War Mesilla was the capital of the Confederate Territory of Arizona. The Mesilla Plaza became a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
In the 1880s both Billy the Kid and Pancho Villa spent time in this town due to the many cantinas. Billy the Kid actually spent time in the jail in April of 1881, arrested by Pat Garret for the murder of Sheriff William Brady. He was sentenced to death. Before this could be carried out he escaped the jail. Pat Garrett hunted him down, found him and shot him dead. Garret became Sheriff of Dona Ana County in 1886 and is still considered a hero today.
We had lunch at the Double Eagle/Peppers.
The restaurant was originally the home of Senor and Senora Maese who relocated to Mesilla from Santa Fe in 1846.
The restaurant is still broken up into many rooms, we had lunch in the atrium. Much of the artwork was originally in the home.
There are stories that the restaurant is haunted. The Maese family had a son named Armando who was adored by his mother. Due to their social status they also employed servants. One of these servants was a beautiful young girl named Inez. When Armando was around 19 years old he fell in love with Inez, and she with him. Senora Maese was having none of this, her son in love with a servant! The outrage!
Armando and Inez tried their best to keep their love affair secret from his mother and continued to see each other on the sly.
One day Senora Maese returned home to find Armando and Inez in quite a compromising position. In a fit of rage she ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, returned to Armando’s room and began stabbing Inez. In her frenzy she didn’t notice that Armando had thrown himself over Inez to protect her and disastrously stabbed her own son. Inez died immediately, Armando died three days later.
Many believe Armando and Inez never left their home and their spirits continue to live in the house together. The Ghost Hunters from the Travel Channel did a show on this location and took the picture below.
We didn’t see any ghosts but we did have a very nice lunch and a beautiful day walking around the Plaza. Highly recommend this restaurant if you ever find yourself near Mesilla New Mexico.
Bonnie & Bruceontheloose 