With the coming of the railroad, many homesteaders moved to New Mexico. In 1886 the New Mexico Education Association of school teachers was organized; in 1889 small state colleges were established at Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Socorro; and in 1891 the first effective public school law was passed.
As the railroad arrived, many settlers moved to New Mexico. In 1886, the New Mexico Education Association of teachers was founded, followed by the establishment of small state colleges in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Socorro in 1889, and the passage of a landmark public school law in 1891.