Location: Catron County, NM Map
Found: 1880s
Mogollon Ghost Town is an abandoned settlement in Catron County of New Mexico in United States. Mogollon was originally found in 1880's.
In the year 1870 the soldier James Cooney
performed exploration work in the vicinity of the Mineral Creek
canyon. On his way he found several veins of gold and silver; but,
at that time, he did not make the discovery public. It was until
1876 that he returned to the site with a comrade to exploit the
valuable metal, however his work was disturbed by attacks from the
native Apaches. He returned two years later and soon the news of the
discovery spread, which caused the arrival of more miners. In 1880
the natives rammed the miners and caused the death of some of them,
including Cooney. His brother James resumed the company.
By
1890 the site grew and came to host some businesses, in addition to
stagecoach service with Silver City. Also, more deposits were
exploited, highlighting among them the one known as Little Fannie.
This excavation, despite its high productivity, also caused serious
lung diseases to workers. During this time the population grew from
3,000 to 6,000 inhabitants. There was also the presence of punters,
robbers, and gunmen who gave Mogollon a bad reputation. On the other
hand, several disasters would hit the town, because a series of
fires and floods would devastate the place during the course of the
years. In 1909 its population was about 2,000 people built certain
facilities such as bakery, theater, hotels and warehouses. There
were also brothels located in two "red zones".
Due to the
First World War the prices of gold and silver fell, which caused
many local mines to close. There was some rebound in the 1930s, but,
World War II, plus a serious fire in 1942, caused the definitive
decline of Mogollon. In spite of everything, it was until the 1950s
that the Little Fannie mine would close operations. In 1987 the
locality was declared as «Historical District». About a hundred
buildings are still standing, including the Silver Creek Inn and the
Coates & Moore, where there is a museum. There are about 15 people
living in the site.