New Mexico History:
New Mexico entered the 1920's with lots of energy.  New Mexico granted women the right to vote in an amendment in 1920 and we were all enjoying prosperity.
Railroads brought tourists in great numbers and the Southwestern Indian Detours transported tourists by car to pueblos and other natural wonders, such as Carlsbad Caverns.
Artists and writers also discovered New Mexico and began to develop groups which flourished in the New Mexico culture.
The discovery of oil in the Permian basin of southeastern New Mexico in 1924 created a very lucrative industry.  Oil field workers came in and created boomtowns, one of which was Hobbs located in the southeast part of the state.  Autos now challenged the railroads as the nation's primary means of transportation.  Modern highways sprang up criss-crossing the nation.  One of these was the modern Route 66 which was authorized in 1926.
Although many increased their wealth, great numbers of rural farmers and ranchers barely survived.  Most New Mexicans were so poor that they barely noticed when the Great Depression began in 1929.
(Information taken from New Mexican magazine).