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Promoting All of Sierra County throughout New Mexico, the United States and the World A project of the Sierra County Recreation and Tourism Advisory Board. Paid for in part by Truth or Consequences and Sierra County Lodgers Tax. |
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HISTORIC MINING, FARMING & RANCHING TOWNS
Kingston was bigger than Albuquerque in 1890. The photo above was shot circa 1885.
Travel Guide New Mexico visited four of Sierra County's "ghost towns" - here's the YouTube video:
| Chloride | Hillsboro | Las Placitas | ||
| Cuchillo | Kingston | Monticello | ||
| Engle | Lake Valley | Winston |
The Bridal Chamber, Solitaire, Silver Monument, Ready Pay, Opportunity, and other mines produced millions in silver and gold, creating a string of Sierra County boomtowns from the 1870s to the 1890s.
The Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway meanders through these living ghost towns that are home to old-timers and newcomers alike who are restoring and revitalizing these historic locales with shops, museums, eateries, and other enterprises.
Chloride was founded in 1880. Englishman Harry Pye had discovered silver ore there in the late 1870s, and soon after Pye was killed by Apaches, word of the silver find got out. Despite the threat of Indian attacks Chloride grew to over 3,000 people. In its heyday it had nine saloons, a general store, a dry goods store, a millinery shop, a restaurant, a butcher shop, a candy store, a pharmacy, a Chinese laundry, a photography studio, a school, and two hotels. The Black Range newspaper was printed in Chloride from 1882 to 1896. Of the nearly 500 surveyed mines and prospect holes in the Apache Mining District, a dozen or so made big mines, including the Silver Monument, the U.S. Treasury, and the St. Cloud, which is still in operation, though not mining silver. The demise of Chloride began with the Silver Panic of 1893 and was hastened by the presidential election of 1896, which resulted in a drastic decline in silver prices.
Many of Chloride's original structures still stand. The old Pioneer Store is now a museum; next door the former Monte Cristo Saloon and Dance Hall houses a gift shop and gallery featuring work by local artists. Both are open seven days a week from 10am-4pm. Harry Pye's cabin is available as a vacation rental. Other landmarks in this tiny town (population 11) include the 200-year-old Hanging Tree and Doodle Dum, the workshop of longtime resident Cassie Hobbs (1904–1989).
(2 miles SW of Winston on Forest Road 226; driving directions)
• link to The Pioneer Store Museum and other points of interest in Chloride
• July 2010 article from the Albuquerque Journal on Chloride
• June 2008 article from the Silver City Sun-News on Chloride and Winston
Cuchillo, established by ranchers and farmers around 1863, the town was named for a nearby creek and a local Apache chief, Cuchillo Negro (Black Knife). Midway between the mines at Chloride and Winston and the railroad at Engle, it flourished as a stage stop and trade center from the 1880s to the 1930s. Charming original buildings still stand, including the Cuchillo Bar and Store, and San Jose Catholic Church, built in 1907. Cuchillo was declared a "Traditional Historic Community" by the Sierra County Government in July of 2011.
(15 miles NW of T or C on NM 52; driving directions)
Engle was founded in 1879 as a station on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. It became a thriving cattle town and shipping point for ore from nearby mines. Construction of Elephant Butte Dam from 1911 to 1916 filled the town with people, but Engle declined after the dam was completed.
Though few people remain, the town is the headquarters of the historic Armendaris Ranch, and New Mexico’s renowned Gruet Winery grows some of its grapes in the region.
(17 miles E of T or C on NM 51)
• link to a webpage on Engle-as-Ghost-Town
Hillsboro was born in 1877 when gold was found at the nearby Opportunity and Ready Pay mines. Despite fierce Indian attacks, the town grew, becoming the county seat in 1884. Area mines produced more than $6 million in gold and silver, and by 1907 the town had a population of 1,200.
Today, this charming, peaceful village of a hundred souls, which boasts flower-filled yards and old cottonwoods lining the main street, offers many enticements, including gift shops; restaurants; artist studios and galleries; the remains of the old county courthouse; the Black Range Museum; Union Church; and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church. Hillsboro’s Community Center holds concerts regularly, and annual events include Heritage Day and Christmas in the Foothills.
(32 miles SW of T or C on NM 152; driving directions)
• blog by the Hillsboro Historical Society - hillsborohistory.blogspot.com
• link to Hillsboro (hillsboronm.com)
• another link to Hillsboro (hillsboronm.org)
Kingston was founded when a rich lode of silver ore was discovered at the Solitaire in 1882. It grew rapidly and 
was the largest town in the territory—and one of the wildest in the Wild West. The town soon offered all of the trappings of civilization and culture. Numerous hotels played host to the likes of Mark Twain, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Black Jack Ketchum. Stage lines served all major routes, and the town supported twenty-three saloons,some of which advertised fresh oysters 24 hours a day! The town also had 14 grocery and general stores; a brewery; three newspapers; and an Opera House where the Lillian Russell Troupe once performed. Albert Bacon Fall and Ed Doheny of the Teapot Dome Scandal got their start in Kingston.
From those glory days, the old Assay Office and the remains of the Victorio Hotel have been renovated as private residences. The Black Range Lodge, a bed and breakfast, offers accommodations in a setting of massive stonewalls and log-beamed ceilings constructed from the ruins of what once was Pretty Sam's Casino. Some Kingston residents offer straw-bale and natural building workshops. Visit www.landerland.com and www.builderswithoutborders.org for more information.
(9 miles W of Hillsboro on NM 152; driving directions)
Lake Valley was named for ancient lakebeds nearby. Founded in 1878 with the discovery of 
silver in the area, the town moved twice before settling at its present site when the Bridal Chamber Mine was discovered in 1882. The subterranean mine produced 2.5 million ounces of silver ore so pure it was shipped unsmelted to the U.S. Mint. A stage stop and railhead, Lake Valley grew to 4,000 people, with saloons, churches, newspapers, a school, stores, and hotels to serve them. Like the area’s other gold and silver boomtowns, the devastating silver panic of 1893 wiped out the town, while a fire destroyed Main Street in 1895.
Lake Valley is a true ghost town (the last permanent residents left in 1994), and a walking tour of the site reveals a chapel, several old homes, the cemetery, and the old schoolhouse (dating from 1904), which is open to the public most days, with BLM caretakers on site to answer questions. (17 miles S of Hillsboro on NM 27)
• "Explore New Mexico" video on the Lake Valley BackCountry Byway (on Youtube)
• Read an article on ghost towns featuring Lake Valley on CNN.com
• link to a webpage on Lake Valley-as-Ghost-Town
Las Placitas (Little Plaza) was founded by the Sedillo family in the 1840s. San Lorenzo Catholic Church (built in 1916), the schoolhouse, a dance hall, and some old homes still stand.
(2 miles south of Monticello on NM 142; driving directions)
Monticello was founded by ranchers and farmers in 1856 as Cañada Alamosa (Cottonwood Canyon). In 1881 its first postmaster, Aristide Bourguet, renamed the town that was located not far from the headquarters for the Warm Springs Apache Agency.
Built in a square around a plaza in order to protect residents from attack, the town features old adobe homes that have been restored by new residents. Mass is still said at historic San Ignacio Catholic Church, built in 1867, and the local cemetery has graves dating from the 1800s.
At right: Monticello's church
(25 miles north of T or C on NM 142; driving directions)
Winston (first called Fairview) was settled in 1881 by miners who found nearby Chloride "too rowdy." It had a school, bars, a newspaper, horse races, and featured plays and songfests at Cloudman Hall (named for the local butcher). Miner, businessman, and future state legislator Frank H. Winston, who came to town in 1882, owned several businesses and generously gave credit to customers in hard times. When he died in 1929, the town was renamed in his honor.
While Winston flourished until the silver panic of 1893, today only a few families remain. Winston's home and carriage house still stand, along with the 1890 schoolhouse, the old post office, and other historic buildings. The town, home to the Winston Store, the Diamond Bar, and the Black Range Camp, hosts the WCCD (for Winston, Chloride, Dusty and Chiz) Festival each June (see our events section or SierraCountyEvents.com for more info).
(38 miles NW of T or C on NM 52; driving directions)
• link to a webpage on Winston-as-Ghost-Town
• read a recent article in the Silver City Sun-News on Winston and Chloride
Photographs on this page courtesy of Judd Irish Bradley, Moshe Koenick, Rebecca Speakes, and Gina Kelley.
Historical information courtesy of the Geronimo Springs Museum.
