The People Unite! Re-inhabit the Republic
Ever wonder why the economy is in such bad shape?
Greetings to everyone-
Mountain Republic Meeting: Reserve
Call for directions: 575-533-6165
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Catron County is the largest county, by area, in New Mexico. At almost 7,000
square miles, Catron County is larger than a few Eastern states. With a population
of only 3,543 people, the county is as sparsely populated as many an old West
frontier area.
Within the boundaries of Catron County lie parts of the Gila National Forest,
the Apache National Forest and the Cibola National Forest. The establishment
of these national forests, in the past called "forest reserves," led
to the name Reserve being given to a village on the San Francisco River.
In the 1860s, Mexican-Americans established a string of villages along the
river, naming them the Upper, Lower, and Middle San Francisco Plazas. In the
late 1870s anglo settlers began arriving. They called the Upper Frisco Plaza,
Milligan's Plaza, naming it after a merchant and saloon owner. This village
is now Reserve.
Milligan's Plaza was the site of the first legendary exploit of Elfego Baca.
In 1882, or perhaps 1884, the nineteen-year-old Baca apparently appointed himself
deputy sheriff and rode 130 miles from Socorro to the Plaza. Here he set about
bringing justice to the Mexican-American community which had been beset by drunken
cowboys.
Slightly outnumbered by, it is said, 80 Texans, he holed up in a jacal, the
flimsiest kind of hut, and was besieged by a mob. Bullets and dynamite could
not dislodge him, and in a gun battle lasting 33 hours, he inflicted death and
grievous injury on his adversaries without being injured himself.
Bordering Arizona, Catron County affords the shortest route between Albuquerque
and Phoenix or Tucson. Reserve can also be reached by following US 180 north
from Silver City and NM 12 east for a total of 99 miles.
Catron County has always been rich in history from prehistoric Indians to the
Chiricahua Apaches who hid in the Apache Creek and Tularosa River area in the
1880’s to Apache tribes with leaders such as Mangas Coloradas, Victorio,
Geronimo, Chato, and Cochise who were housed on the Apache Indian Agency from
1870 to 1874 until they were moved back to the Ojo Caliente reservation and
the Fort was abandoned. Until 1906 this settlement was know as Joseph. From
Fort Tularosa housed the Apache Indian Agency until the Indians were moved back
to the Ojo Caliente reservation and the Fort was abandoned.
Did you know Catron County even has claimed to a UFO crash in 1974 near Horse
Springs on the San Augustine Plains? As the story goes one or maybe two of the
aliens were still alive after the crash. However, no one living in the area
at that time seems to remember the crash. But, still one has to ask was it a
UFO or just a plane crash? Either way it makes a good story to when sitting
around the campfire on a starry night.
Rising majestically from the bush and grass of the San Agustin Plains, the
Datil Mountains rise to an elevation of 7,500 feet with the town of Datil nestled
at its feet. This picturesque little town was established in 1884 and was named
for the yucca seedpods resembling dates, Datil is the Spanish work of “date”.
Levi and Fred Baldwin opened the first store and post office to serve area ranchers.
Today, the Eagle Guest Ranch, a café, motel, general store, gas station,
and RV park acts as the general meeting place for the community and surrounding
area. A few miles to the west the Datil Well Campground was a watering well
for cattle on the historic stock drive from Springerville, Arizona to the railhead
in Magdalena, New Mexico.
Just down the road on US 60 sits a small community on the Continental Divide
at the altitude of 7,900 feet. Clyde Norman owned the town’s only gas
station and café, he began selling pies to the local community and passers
by and in the 1920’s the town become known as Pie Town. In 1934 the area
was opened to homesteaders who began dry land farming, mostly growing pinto
beans until 1956 when the lack of rain and snow made farming difficult. Today
an annual Pie Festival is held the second Saturday of September.
Another short drive west of Pie Town will bring you to Quemado, which lies
at an altitude of 6,970 feet. Quemado is the Spanish word for “burned”.
In 1880 a settler by the name of Jose Antonio Padilla noticed the brush had
been burned by the local Indians and named the settlement Rito Quemado. Today
Quemado serves the surrounding area with cafes, motels, garages, a general store,
a hardware store, and a high school.
Luna is a tiny sleepy historical village that was settled in the 19th Century
by a sheep rancher and powerful political force in New Mexico named Solomon
Luna. The area was later settled by Mormon ranchers from Utah. However, the
Hough Ruin (pronounced HUFF) is just a reminder these early settlers were but
newcomers, as the Hough Ruin dates back 700 years earlier. In 1995, ten rooms
were being excavated by archaeologists from the Museum of New Mexico and a great
kiva was discovered. After further excavation it was found this site, though
to be a Mogollon ruin, was different from other ruins. It was found to be a
large, L-shaped, multi-storied ruin containing 20 to 35 rooms, and two kivas.
Kivas were used for religious purposes. Although a shelter was built over the
excavated ruins for their protection, it has yet to be developed, due to lack
of money, into a visitor’s center and historical site.
Although today the narrow water pipeline named the “catwalk” by
workman, to the 1890’s mining town of Graham, has been replaced by a metal
walkway along the Whitewater Creek offers breath taking views of nature as the
creek below races by. Ruins of the old mill can still be seen on the north side
of the canyon from the parking lot. Past the canyon walls the trail continues
to the old pump house. Another trail continues 14 miles to a 10,000 foot ridge
in the Mogollon Mountains offering breath taking views.
The town of Mogollon was founded in 1895, and produced gold and silver for
the next 20 years, until 1942 when wartime legislation was passed by Congress
affecting gold production. Today Mogollon, now considered a ghost town, has
few full time residents. The town has two small museums, an antique shop filled
with mining artifacts, a B & B, and the old theatre is being restored. Mogollon
offers the visitor a change to step into the past for a hour or two. The winding
mountain road opens up into a canyon with houses on either side of the canyon
and Silver Creek flowing quietly and lazily from one side of the canyon to the
other. The mining community produced about 70% ($5,500,000.00) of all precious
metals produced in New Mexico. This mountain range was either named for the
mistletoe, which grows throughout the area, called Mogollon (pronounced muggy-yone)
or Juan Ignacio Mogollon and early Spanish governor. In 1891, the town boosted
of a public school with 120 students, a Catholic church, seven saloons and two
red-light districts, but fires wiped out several of the buildings. Along with
the consistent threat of fire floods became increasingly frequent due to the
harvesting of trees for homes and mining operations. The gold and silver ore
was freighted down the mountain and supplies were freighted up by wagons pulled
by 18 horses around hairpin curves. As you drive along the road to Mogollon
let your imagine drift back in time when the road was much narrower then your
presently driving and wagons were pulled by 18 horses struggling all day to
travel the 7 miles from the valley below to the bustling mining town.
| Catron County Population: |
3,543 |
| Land Area: |
6,898 square miles
|
Median Rainfall:
|
14.6" |
| Average First Freeze Date |
September 24 |
| Average Last Freeze Date: |
June 8 |
| Elevation: |
6,879 ft. |
| County Seat: |
Reserve |
| Total Federal Land: |
2,799,004 acres |
| |
581,435 acres BLM |
| |
2,217,036 acres Forest Service |
| State Land: |
533,037 acres |
| Indian Land: |
10,880 acres |
| Deeded Land: |
1,081,779 acres |
Tom Klumker is standing for the right to be free from
big-government control from Washington DC. The People of Catron
County know very well how to handle and care for their land and
animals, both domestic and wild. Generations of Catron County
Citizens have lived lives bound to the Land and its native animals,
plants and minerals. We can take care of ourselves! Thank you for offering
to get highly paid to help, but we can handle our local affairs just fine.
God bless all you fine Federal Folk and we'll look
forward to seeing you next time we visit WASHINGTON D.C.
The People of Catron County
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