Though most of the houses built during New Mexico's homestead boom of the early 20th century were very modest, many of them simple kit houses, a surprising number were built on a slightly grander scale. The house above has some nice features including a large chimney, flagstone accents, and a foyer with diamond shaped windows.
While the most basic kit house would have gone for a few hundred dollars, something like this would be close to twice the cost. Only the land was free, the rest was up to the homesteader, who had to "improve" the land (build a house etc.), to keep it.
Many movie westerns depict a ranch house, often a low slung, rustic mansion, that is largely mythical. Actual ranch houses, of the time, wouldn't have been out of place in Baltimore, Chicago, or Los Angeles. They were just houses.
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