NEW MEXICO

The earliest registration of motor vehicles in New Mexico Territory was effected by city ordinances, with Roswell and Albuquerque being the earliest in 1908.  City licensing became limited to resident owners only in mid-1912 and was phased out completely in mid-1913, according to the provisions of new state laws in those years.

Albuquerque (11,020)

Ordinance #432 was passed on September 21, 1908, and effective on October 10, 1908.  As published in the Albuquerque Journal on September 25, 1908, the ordinance required owners of automobiles and motorcycles to pay an annual $1.50 operator's license fee to the City Clerk, as well as a one-time fee of $2 for a city-issued rear plate with 3-inch-tall numbers (or 1-inch-tall numbers for motorcycles).  The Journal reported on October 13, 1908, that "Dr. M. K. Wylder...will be granted the distinction of having number one on his devil wagon."

Ordinance #441 was passed on March 15, 1909, and effective on March 27, 1909.  This ordinance supplemented #432 by providing for penalties for running motor vehicles without a license or tag.  It was published in the Journal on March 17, 1909.  The Albuquerque Citizen printed an article on June 3, 1909, with the headlines "NUMBER OF AUTOS SHOW CITY'S ADVANCE" and "Motor Cars and Motorcycles are Becoming More Numerous and the City Orders More Tags."  The text stated that "City Clerk John McManus is now complaining of a shortage of automobile numbers.  Up to the present time, forty-nine licenses have been issued and a number given with each to be hung in a conspicuous place on each machine...as Mr. McManus is short of tags, an order has been placed with a local firm."  By April 26, 1911, numbers 121 and 122 has been issued.

Ordinance #474 was passed on October 21, 1912, and effective upon publication in the Albuquerque Evening Herald on October 29, 1912.  This amended the previous ordinances, the progress of which had been documented by earlier articles in the Albuquerque Journal which reported on June 18, 1912, that "Ordinance No. 474, the auto regulation ordinance, was tabled until the recent state automobile provisions could be investigated."  On August 6, 1912, it stated that "The automobile ordinance was brought up again and discussed some more, finally going back to the city attorney for the elimination of the license clause."

Las Vegas (3,179)

Ordinance #349, enacted August 13, 1910 and effective immediately, required an annual $5 fee to the City Clerk, and the display of a city-issued rear license plate.  The registration was valid for one year from the date of issue, and non-residents were exempted from registration for 30 days.  An interesting option was that the license number could be "painted thereon at expense of the owner, if it is unpracticable to attach the tag."  The ordinance included motorcycles as well as automobiles.

Three Las Vegas Daily Optic news articles provide a few additional details.  On August 17, 1910, it was reported that "City Clerk Charles Tamme says he soon will be ready to begin issuing automobile licenses in accordance with the new ordinance, which became a law with its publication last week.  He has models of various kinds of license tags.  The one most favored is of white enameled metal on which dark letters and numbers can be attached.  The tags will bear the letters "L.V." followed by the number of the license."

An update on August 26, 1910, states that "Enforcement of the newly adopted automobile and motor cycle ordinance will begin September 1.  After the passage of the ordinance is required considerable time to purchase numbers for the machines and the blank licenses.  Many of the auto owners have been inquiring when their license money was due.  It is predicted by City Clerk Charles Tamme that he will be ready to begin issuing the licenses the first of the month."

We aren't certain if they started on schedule, but plates certainly appeared sometime in September.  A September 28, 1910, article mentions that many automobiles are still not displaying license tags, despite an automobile ordinance requiring them having been passed "several weeks ago."

Raton (4,539)

Ordinance #169 was passed January 31, 1911, requiring both an operator's license for a $1.50 fee, and automobile or motorcycle registration for a $5 fee, both payable to the City Clerk.  Rear plates were provided by the City Clerk; automobile plates were to have 3-inch-high numbers while motorcycle plates would have 1-inch-high numbers.  The first automobile plate number issued was #100R.  It is unknown if motorcycles were assigned a separate series of numbers, and if so, whether they used numbers 1 to 99.  Operator licenses expired one year from the date of issue, but the vehicle registration was permanent.  Plate number #122R is the highest known.

Roswell (6,172)

Ordinance #107 was passed on June 22, 1908, effective June 29, 1908.  As published in the Roswell Daily Record on June 24, 1908, the ordinance required automobile and motorcycle owners to register with the City Clerk and pay a fee of $1 to be assigned a number.  This number was to be displayed in 4-inch-tall numerals on the rear of each vehicle, presumably using owner-provided plates.  This ordinance was apparently amended in 1910, for the Daily Record mentioned on May 26, 1910, that "An ordinance levying a tax of $5 per year on all autos, in addition to the $1 fee for numbers, was introduced and went through the usual process, the vote resulting seven to two..."

Sante Fe (5,072)

An ordinance was passed November 1, 1910, effective November 10, 1910, which required an annual fee to the City Clerk for a "road license" as follows:  Automobiles $8, Motorcycles $4, Bicycles $1.  Also required was an annual "certificate of qualification" for a $2 fee.  The registration and license year was January 1 to December 31.  It was stipulated that owners display an owner-provided pair of plates with 3-inch-tall numbers and the letters "S.F.".  Non-residents were allowed 10 days before having to purchase a quarterly registration for $2, in addition to the $2 operator's license.  Quarterly fees for motorcycles and bicycles were not mentioned.

A period photo of an automobile driving outside of Sante Fe with the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the background clearly shows a light-on-dark front plate with the number "3 S.F.".  So far, no Sante Fe plates are known to have survived.