We parked up in “down town” Truth or Consequences.
“Truth or Consequences (often abbreviated as T or C) is a city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Sierra County. In 2020, the population was 6,052. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names for having chosen to rename itself in March 1950 after the Truth or Consequences radio show. The name is often hyphenated (Truth-or-Consequences, T-or-C) for clarity, though the formal name contains no punctuation.” — Wikipedia
…and went for a coffee at the excellent Black Cat - Books and Coffee.
After posting two postcards, and still in Truth or Consequences we had a browser round Junkology and bought and excellent duck.
The key aim for the day was to work our way through the hills of the Gila National Forest.
After a LOT of a switchbacks and an hour of driving we got to Hillsboro. Being a “ghost town” nothing outside of the Post Office was open. The man at the counter said things only really open on a Friday or Saturday.
“Hillsboro is an unincorporated community in Sierra County, New Mexico, United States, located in the southwestern part of the state. It was founded in 1877, following the discovery of gold. The community was the county seat of Sierra County from 1884 until 1936, when Hot Springs (now called Truth or Consequences) became the county seat.
The town was named Hillsborough by prospectors in December 1877, but later shortened to Hillsboro. By 1880, the town had four companies of soldiers and 400 miners, but the population soon grew to 700. A county courthouse was built in 1892. By 1907, the population was 1200. A flood on 10 June 1914 caused considerable damage to many town buildings. New Mexico State Road 152 and NM 27 intersect in and bisect the town.” — Wikipedia
Into Santa Rita. A sign by a shrine stated: “IN 1960, THE KENNECOTT COPPER CORP. NOTIFIED THE RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN OF SANTA RITA THAT THEY HAD TO VACATE BY 1970 DUE TO MINING EXPANSION, ALL HOUSES, BUILDINGS, AND SANTA RITA CATHOLIC CHURCH WERE EITHER MOVED OR DEMOLISHED. THE STATUE OF SANTA RITA WAS TAKEN TO THE VILLAGE OF CENTRAL
MIGUEL OJINAGA. ANGEL ALVARADO AND MOY GONZALES ASKED KENNECOTT OFFICIALS FOR A SECTION OF LAND AND THE STATUE WAS BROUGHT BACK WITH THE BLESSING OF THE DIOCESAN BISHOP OF EL PASO AND THE HELP OF OTHER SANTA RITA RESIDENTS. THE SHRINE WAS BUILT HERE. THE FORMER TOWN OF SANTA RITA WAS LOCATED ONE MILE EAST OF THIS LOCATION.”
We doubled-back to look at the mine, which is prettier than you might think a mine would be.
A little up the road was Kelly, and an abandoned fridge which said; “Just a reminder brother: Garden and chickens in the morning and the evening. Sorry for writing on the fridge.”
I decided against opening the fridge.
A little further on was Kingston.
“Jack Sheddon discovered silver in what would become the Solitaire Mine in 1882. Originally called Percha City, Kingston was surveyed the same year and soon had a population of 1800. Lillian Russell once performed here.
The Depression of 1893 curtailed mining activities in the area, though there was a brief resurgence during World War II. By 1952 however, most production had ceased.” — Wikipedia
Another hour an we were in Fiero
“Fierro is an archaic form of hierro, the Spanish word for “iron,” and iron is the reason the town was born in the first place. The mining history goes back to 1841, when Sofio Henkle (or Hinkle), a German immigrant living in Mexico, went looking for copper deposits. He found both copper and iron on a mountain a few miles north of the big copper mine in Santa Rita and named the mountain and its new mine Hanover, after his former home.” — cityofdust.blogspot.com
Up a short hill was a pretty standard church, but behind is a grotto. There doesn’t seem to be much information online about it. It was pretty small, lots of the candles were lit and the air was full of the smell of incense.
The final ghost town was Pinos Altos. There was a musuem with a note saying; “Your custom is appreciated. Press the doorbell and we’ll be there in five minutes. We did, but they weren’t. We spoke to a guy on a lay-back bike who was travelling around New Mexico making for videos. I contacted him through this YouTube channel later in the evening and they didn’t show up for him either.
There was a bar, and an opera house - neither of whose facades matched what you’d think was inside.
Long roads ahead, and finally Lordsburg for the hotel (well, after we checked straight out of the first one because it stank of cleaning fluid to the extent it stung our throats.)
