Entering Mogollon New Mexico
by Priscilla Burgers
Title
Entering Mogollon New Mexico
Artist
Priscilla Burgers
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
"Entering Mogollon, New Mexico" is a photograph of the scene greeting a visitor to the former mining town in the Mogollon Mountains in Catron Couny, New Mexico. Mogollon, also called the Mogollon Historic District, was founded in the 1880s at the bottom of Silver Creek Canyon to support the gold and silver mines in the surrounding mountains. A mine called "Little Fannie" became the most important source of employment for the town's population. During the 1890s Mogollon had a transient population of between 3,000 to 6,000 miners and, because of its isolation, had a reputation as one of the wildest mining towns in the West. Today Mogollon is listed as Fannie Hill Mill and Company Town Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
Little Fanny was an extremely dusty mine. Miner's consumption, a series of ailments affecting miners, caused miners to work at Little Fanny for three years or less. In response, the owners developed a method of spraying water under pressure from the jackhammers as they broke the quartz for removal from the mine thus reducing the dust in the air. In 1909, the population of Mogollon was about 2,000. That year, the town boasted five saloons, two restaurants, four merchandise stores, two hotels and several brothels located in two infamous red light districts. The town also had a photographer, the Midway Theatre, an ice maker and a bakery. The Silver City and Mogollon Stage Line provided daily service, hauling passengers, freight, gold, and silver bullion eighty miles between the two towns in almost fifteen hours. From early in its life, Mogollon was plagued by a series of fires and floods. The first big fire of 1894 wiped out most of the town buildings, which were made of wood. Fires followed in 1904, 1910, 1915, and 1942. Citizens usually immediately rebuilt, each time using more stone and adobe. Floods rushed through Silver Creek in 1894, 1896, 1899, and 1914. They washed away mine tailings, dumps, bridges, houses, and people. As recently as September, 2013, the only road into Mogollon washed away, stranding 18 people in town. During World War I, the demand for gold and silver dropped, and many of Mogollon's mines shut down. The population in 1930 had dropped to a reported two hundred. The town grew again during a short resurgence in gold value during the late 1930s, but during World War II it shrank again, never really recovering.
In 1973, a spaghetti western called My Name is Nobody, starring Henry Fonda and Terence Hill, was filmed in Mogollon. A saloon and general store in town were built as part of the movie set. Today the town is privately owned. Mogollon is the location of several small businesses, including the Silver Creek Inn, which operates in a former bordering lodge called the Mogollon House built by Frank Lauderbaugh in 1885. The establishment is reportedly filled with ghosts from the mining era. Sadly, Mogollon experienced a major flood in recent years. This scene looks very different now.
This image is also available with a vintage effect.
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Uploaded
November 25th, 2013
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