Fabian Garcia Science Center
Operated by New Mexico State University (NMSU), the Fabian Garcia Science Center encompasses forty-five acres of land dedicated to agricultural education and research. Various test fields and greenhouses allow for a wide range of projects at any one time. Some of the more recent research includes a national initiative to produce renewable biofuels using algae and an examination of how New Mexico's climate affects viticulture (grape cultivation). The Landscape Demonstration Garden offers visitors an overview of native plant life and species introduced as part of ongoing research. The site contains some of the region's oldest pecan trees, possibly planted by Fabian Garcia himself in the early twentieth century.
Fabian Garcia arrived at NMSU (then State College) in 1890 and received his degree with the school's first graduating class in 1894. He had emigrated from Chihuahua, Mexico to live with his grandmother in southern New Mexico after the early deaths of his parents. Garcia furthered his education at Cornell University, but returned to State College to receive an M.S. in agriculture. In 1913, he became director of the USDA Experiment Station at NMSU, a position he held for the next three decades.
Garcia's early years as director coincided with construction of the Elephant Butte Dam to the north on the Rio Grande, which allowed for the expansion of commercial agriculture in the Mesilla Valley. Much of Garcia's work at the Experiment Station directly benefited New Mexico's farmers, as he developed crops suited to local climate, including sweet potatoes, pecans, onions, and cotton. Most famously, Garcia bred chiles, offering peppers in a variety of colors and with different degrees of spiciness that appealed to the American diet.
Today, the Science Center and world-renowned Chile Pepper Institute continue several of these projects started during Garcia's tenure. In the summertime and fall, Garcia’s legacy is visible as chiles of all shapes, sizes, and colors adorn the test fields.
Narrative and photographs by Annie Muirhead, New Mexico State University.
