Decided to stop by some ghost towns while in route to Sedona AZ from Las Cruces NM. Water was piped from a spring 2 miles away, to a reservoir above the town. And, while Ghost Towns are common here in the desert, this one is special in that it’s protected by the BLM and manned by a “Work Camping” couple like us. Work on the spur was begun in 1908 but was suspended within months, stalling development of the community of about 60 residents for a decade.In 1919 a “gentleman entrepreneur,” Dr. Jean (or John) Justin DePraslin of New Orleans convinced investors to put up nearly $450,000 to develop the Hagan Coal Mine, including housing, mine buildings and a power plant. Check out our videos on Some are essential to make our site work, others help us improve the user experience. Explore #NewMexicoTrue Lake Valley was a mining town that produced tons of silver, but after a fire spread through the town and destroyed a good portion of …
An eight-grade school was set up to serve 70 pupils.The town grew from 1924 to 1930 and the population peaked at about 200 people, mostly Italian and Slavic miners from the coalfields of Raton and Dawson, and local Hispanics from Madrid and Los Cerrillos. Like a lot of southwest Ghost Towns, it centered around mining, namely silver. Our First Visit New Mexico Ghost Town. Lake Valley Historic Townsite: Ghost town of ghost towns - See 53 traveler reviews, 50 candid photos, and great deals for Las Cruces, NM, at Tripadvisor. An eight-grade school was set up to serve 70 pupils. Being only a 23 minute drive from Hillsboro, or 34 minutes from Hatch, Lake Valley is a great addition to a scenic drive on hwy 152 to Emory Pass and a lunch stop at Sparky’s in Hatch, or Hillsboro Cafe in Hillsboro. Getting There. Dawson is located on private property, but you can get close enough to the cemetery to feel a certain tension in the air.
Movement. There are also some great photo opportunities. Directions to the fort from Las Cruces, NM, is = At the south side of Las Cruces is the junction of I-10 and I-25, driving south from Las Cruces and from that intersection one mile is Fillmore Canyon. The town was in its death throes with a brief resurgence in the 1920’s and again during WW2 when manganese ore was being mined. It’s definitely an out of the way location, which made it even more appealing.
Water was piped from a spring 2 miles away, to a reservoir above the town. Worth the drive out. By 1933 the railroad, never profitable, ceased operation and was dismantled, and in 1939 the Hagan Mine closed down.East of I-25, beyond the San Felipe Casino north of Albuquerque and down a dirt county road heading towards MadridOnly the foundations and a few brick walls of the power plant, general store, reservoir, and a few smaller buildings remain.
The site uses cookies to store information on your computer. There is something here for everyone. Las Vegas, New Mexico Byron T. Mills, the hotel's former owner and town mayor, is the famous friendly ghost here. If you are interested in specific things Lake Valley has to offer, then you’ll love it even more.
All were a bit disappointing EXCEPT Chloride! Exploring these communities is an ideal day trip for anyone with a love for ghost towns. The current caretakers are very friendly, knowledgeable and passionate about the location and history. See the link below for more details and historical facts. We set out early to explore and photograph the Lake Valley ghost town as part of a day trip. That coupled with the unnatural stillness may be why many believe this ghost town to be haunted and consider it to be the creepiest abandoned town in New Mexico. This is normally a dry arroyo over which is a bridge of about 50 feet. Ghost Towns. But in the early 1930s the miners hit a layer of shale which soon widened, eventually choking off coal production. Due to New Mexico’s mining history, there were quite a few mining towns that sprung up out of nowhere and died out just as quickly. There is a lot of interesting history. Initially, coal was hauled by wagon to the railroad main line at San Felipe. We proceeded with cautious optimism and were rewarded. The name Hagan was chosen for the site in 1904, named after a local official of the AT&SF Railroad, no doubt to encourage the extension of a railroad spur to serve the mines. Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. During tours, guests have reported seeing shadowy figures lurking in the hallways, flashlights turning on and off mysteriously and having their arms scratched. We were one of three couples out exploring that day.
It’s a truly interesting place with a colorful history. It was an overcast, chilly day, but I rationalized that some of my favorite photographs were taken when the perfect conditions eluded me. For more info, contact the Las Cruces District BLM (575) 525-4300 or on the web: Full Time RV Lifestyle and International traveler. It was an overcast, chilly day, but I rationalized that some of my favorite photographs were taken when the perfect conditions eluded me. Father LaRue, while sitting with an old dying soldier, listened while the man told him of a rich gold-bearing load in the mountains north of El Paso del Norte (El Paso, Texas today.)