Land of Enchantment

When New Mexico became a state, it was called "The Sunshine State." However, in 1935, the director of the State Tourist Bureau, Joseph Bursey, created a brochure entitled: Two Weeks in New Mexico: Land of Enchantment. The slogan caught on and in 1937, the State Highway Department put Land of Enchantment on the states road maps. It was added to license plated in 1941, and in 1947, the Tourist Bureau got the exclusive right to use the phrase as its trademark. However, it wasn't adopted as the state nickname until 1999.