The roots of the New Mexico and Arizona Land Company trace back to America’s era of transcontinental railroad expansion in the 19th century. In 1866, Congress chartered the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company (A&P) to construct the first southern rail corridor across the United States—from Springfield, Missouri to the Pacific Coast. Under the terms of its federal charter, the A&P was granted large tracts of public domain land as an incentive for successful rail construction.

After several false starts, the A&P was ultimately acquired in bankruptcy by a group of venture capitalists operating under a new name: the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Company, commonly known as the “Frisco.”

In 1880, a joint venture between the Frisco and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company revived the original A&P charter to build a railroad line from Isleta, New Mexico to Needles, California. This effort earned the partners millions of acres in federal land grants across Arizona and New Mexico. A later division of these holdings left the Frisco with over 1.2 million acres of fee land—encompassing both surface and mineral rights.

To manage these lands, the Frisco incorporated the New Mexico and Arizona Land Company in 1908, in what was then the Territory of Arizona. In 1916, the Frisco took the company public, retaining a majority interest while offering nearly half of the stock on the Curb Exchange (a predecessor to the American Stock Exchange) under the ticker symbol “NZ.”

In 1968, uranium was discovered on NZ’s New Mexico holdings, marking a new chapter in its history. By the 1980s, the company had shifted its focus from rural land management to urban real estate development and bridge financing. Over time, NZ began strategically liquidating some of its historic land holdings to fund new ventures.

After multiple mergers and shifts in control, the Worsley family office—led by Bob and Christi Worsley—acquired NZ’s remaining rural assets in March 2002. They retained the historic corporate name and restructured the enterprise into a modern limited liability company, supported by a network of 12 specialized LLCs. To manage both legacy and new ventures, they established NZ Legacy, LLC—a holding entity that now spans land and mineral management, modular housing factories, renewable energy, and sustainable real estate development.

In 2010, NZ partnered with Hunt Oil of Dallas, Texas to form HNZ Holdings, LLC—a joint venture focused on 75,000 acres of fee land and 400,000 of NZ’s 1,000,000 mineral acres.

Under Mr. Worsley’s visionary leadership, NZ Legacy has embraced a dynamic future, unlocking the full potential of its vast holdings through innovation, stewardship, and strategic development.