The Los Alamos County Sheriff’s Posse Lodge garnered unanimous approval Friday for placement on the State Register of Cultural Properties. Photo by Sal Zapien/ladailypost.com
By Carol A. Clark
Board President Carey Grzadzinski of the Los Alamos County Sheriff’s Posse was beaming with pride following Friday’s meeting before the New Mexico Cultural Properties Review Committee in Santa Fe.
“We couldn’t be happier … we received unanimous approval and the Posse Lodge is now listed on the State Register of Cultural Properties,” Grzadzinski said during Saturday’s sold out rodeo dinner at the Lodge.
Grzadzinski, Dede Braden and other members of the Los Alamos County Sheriff’s Posse attended the Cultural Properties Review Committee meeting Friday in the Old Senate Chambers of the Bataan Memorial Building on Galisteo Street.
Braden told the Los Alamos Daily Post that it didn’t take any time at all for the committee to approve the Posse Lodge for the state registry.
“We are just so thrilled,” Braden said. “This will ensure preservation of the Posse Lodge for the future.”
An official plaque will arrive soon to be placed on the building.
The 60-foot by 36-foot cabin at 650 North Mesa Road has a pier-and-beam foundation and a pitched roof. The building’s originally tar-papered roof with asphalt shingles was replaced with a metal roof in 1993.
The interior consists of two large fireplaces, a dining hall that seats 120 people, a full kitchen with commercial stove and refrigerator, two restrooms and a coat closet.
The Los Alamos Sheriff’s Posse formed in 1948 to assist the Atomic Energy Commission and patrolled on horseback the perimeter of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory.
In 1958, after Los Alamos became an open city, members of the Posse completed construction of what was then called the Los Alamos Sheriff’s Posse Shack.
The first event held in the log cabin was the Posse’s 1958 Christmas party.
The AEC leased the property for the Lodge to the Sheriff’s Posse until 1968 when it officially deeded the land to the nonprofit organization.
Today the Posse Lodge is used for monthly Cowboy Breakfast fundraisers, wedding and engagement receptions, anniversaries, graduations, meetings, birthday parties and more.
For information, visit http://lasheriffsposse.com/
