"Magnificent Magnolia" (1893-1974)

Before she came to Hot Springs, Magnolia Ellis divorced her husband and went back to school, supporting herself and her child by working in a boarding house around her classes. In her Hot Springs clinic she worked her way along six booths, each with a table. This panel replaced an earlier one, approved in 2007, which said she had been recognized by most notable doctors of the day; the current text instead records that she denied being a faith healer. She died in 1974, and her two-story building still stands downtown.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker "Magnificent Magnolia" (1893-1974) Magnolia Ellis was a "magnetic healer." Born in Hill County, Texas, she settled in Hot Springs, today's Truth or Consequences, in 1937, and built a two-story residence and office that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. She denied being a faith healer, instead laying hands on patients who claimed to have a feeling of electricity when she touched them. Patients picked numbers, and Magnolia visited them in six different booths, sometimes seeing 100 patients a day. Magnificent Magnolia helped put Hot Springs on the map. Official Scenic Historic Marker New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative The New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative was founded in 2005 by members of the New Mexico Women's Forum in a statewide effort to recognize women's contributions to New Mexico history on the state's Official Scenic Historic Markers. The Initiative ensures that women's diverse histories will be remembered and told, and will inspire and provide a guide for future generations. The 2006 Legislature funded the project.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Elephant Butte Lake State Park — 0.3 mi
• Carrie Tingley — 0.9 mi
• Truth or Consequences — 1.1 mi
• Truth or Consequences — 2.2 mi