HISTORY TIME AGAIN - HILLSBORO, NM

Although not a ghost town (about 225 people live there, Hillsboro has a rich mining history. Hillsboro's history is traced back to a gold find, not silver as is the case for many of the old mining towns in Arizona and New Mexico. In ApRil 1877 gold was found along Percha Creek. Two prospectors working as partners discovered the site. Dan Dugan and Dave Stitzel were working the east side of Black Range, the Mimbres Mountains, when Stitzel ran across some float that Dugan thought worthless. Stitzel disagreed and proceeded to hide a few samples that he had assayed when they returned to town. When Dugan heard the assay ran $160 a ton, he couldn't wait to file a claim. The news spread and soon there was a community of miners and prospectors. The inhabitants seemingly could not agree on a name for the settlement. It was decided to put names into a hat and the first one drawn would be the name of the town. By the luck of the draw, Hillsboro came into existence.

Hillsboro was in the heart of Apache territory, but despite fierce Indian attacks, the town grew. The post office opened in 1879 and never closed, and Hillsboro became the county seat in 1884. It grew to about 1,200 people by 1907. Area mines produced about $6 million in gold and silver. A slowdown occurred, however, and Hillsboro lost the county seat to T or C in 1938. Hillsboro also had the last operating stage line in the U. S.

The remains of the old county courthouse, built in 1892, still stand. It was here that the three alleged killers of Col. Albert J. Fountain were tried for (and acquitted of) his 1896 murder.

The Union Church, an Episcopal church, built in 1892 is still in use today.

The General Store is now a small restaurant where we had a great hamburger and homemade fries. The milk shakes are pretty good too.

Hillsboro had its ups and downs. Fires, floods, influenza epidemics and ecnomic downturns took their toil. But it now is a small active community of artists, ranchers and retirees.

TOUR GUIDES

Steve and Jenn, our oldest son and his wife, came down from Albuquerque and spent the week-end with us. We had such a great time and can hardly wait for more times like these. And it's really neat to have tour guides (the kids) who know the area so well.

FROM OUR LIVING ROOM WINDOW

A New Mexico sunset from our living room window at the Cedar Cove RV Park in Elephant Butte, NM.

MOUNTAIN VIEW

This picture was taken on our way back down to the valley from Chloride. Chloride was only about 29 miles off the interstate but it's about an hour drive because of the switchbacks as you make your mountain climb.

CHLORIDE, NM

I love these old mining towns and the history that goes along with them. Chloride got its start in the late 1870s by accident. Harry Pye, a mule skinner, was hauling freight through the area for the U. S. Army when he found some promising looking "float". He had the rocks assayed and found they were rich in chloride of silver. Pye didn't tell anybody about his find until his contract with the Army ended in 1879. Then, with two companions, he returned to Chloride Canyon and staked his claim. Shortly, his party was attacked by Indians and Pye was killed.

The word got out that there was a rich silver strike, and by 1880 miners had flocked to the area. By late 1881, Chloride had eight saloons, three mercantile stores, two butcher shops, a hotel, boarding houses, an assay office, livery stables, a candy store, a drug store, a law office, a Chinese laundry and a millinery store. The population grew to about 3,000 duirng its heyday.

Chloride started to decline in the mid 1890's when the U. S. government selected gold as the monetary standard. By 1900, Chloride had become a quiet little village.


The Monte Cristo Saloon was built in 1880.
The Pioneer Store, also located on Wall Street, was also built in 1880 and is now a museum.

This tree is the old hanging tree. The locals don't seem to want to say how many people were hanged from this old tree. (FYI - 30 people still call Chloride home.)

NEW MEXICO DESERT

The New Mexico desert is so different than the Arizona desert. Arizona definitely has a lot more cacti and sand. But they are both so beautiful they just reach out and touch you. I wish I could paint or write more creatively because the words I have just don't express how I feel when I look at this land of ours.

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, NM

A brief history of this unique little town. Their history has unfolded around its hot springs. The Ancients of pre-history built pit homes and pueblo-like dwellings and farmed the surrounding area. They gathered round the hot springs for socializing and healing. Then Apache roamed the region using the hot springs for gathering and healing.

In 1598, Juan de Onate and his troops moved northward through New Mexico, followed by Spanish settlers. They built homes and villages, and farmed the canyons in this area. In the 1800s, the Apache was driven out, allowing more white settlers to arrive and develop ranching and mining activities.

The town was known as Hot Springs until 1950. In late 1949 Ralph Edwards issued a challenge for a U.S. town to change its name in celebration of his show's 10th anniversary. Hot Springs was slected and in 1950 changed it's name to Truth or Consequences.