Chloride, NM
I hope this isn't too wordy for a pics thread. The following is an excerpt from one of my NM trip reports.
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Chloride was "established" by Harry Pye. He was a mule skinner hauling freight for the Army to Ojo Caliente in 1879. One evening he took shelter from roaming Apaches in the canyon and in the morning discovered silver chloride. He did not live to see the tent city and subsequent buildings at Chloride. A few months after staking his claim he and his party were killed by Apaches.
Tension between Apaches and settlers was high in the area at that time. In 1890 another miner, Oscar Pfotenhauer, was attacked and killed by Apaches in the hills around Chloride. His simple grave marker states his name, birth date and date of death. On the back it states, "Killed by Indians".
As more settlers, miners and ranchers moved in to the area tension and hostilities increased. The newcomers were encroaching on Apache ancestral territory and depredating the game in the area. In 1891 all of the ranching and mining communities of the Mogollon rim were in a high state of alert due to the Warm Springs Apache uprising.
Many of the buildings in Chloride have been purchased by the Edmond's. They have been restoring the buildings for several years to preserve the mining heritage of the area. The few folks I met were very friendly. They showed me around the Monte Cristo Saloon (now a gallery) and the Pioneer Store.
A corner of the Pioneer Store served as the Chloride Post Office
In 1927 the owner of the Pioneer Store sealed it up with everything inside and moved away. The Edmonds purchased it lock stock and barrel with all of the goods inside. After much cleaning and restoration work they've opened it as a museum.
A few of the other structures in Chloride:
Clockwise from left -
Mining Headquarters, Miner's Cabin (1880s), 1st Building in Chloride
Someone has a sense of humor as evidenced by the ironic placement of the satellite television dish on the outhouse between two of the buildings.
Collapsing structures across the street from the Pioneer Store
This Bank failed before it ever opened
One of Chloride's early saloons
Chloride's best days were in the 1880s. At its height the mining town boasted of three stores, eight saloons, two butcher shops, a hotel, at least one brothel, a millinery store, a laundry and an assay office.
In the mid 1890s the US Government selected gold as the monetary standard and the price of silver plunged. Chloride, like other silver mining towns, began its decline and was a quiet town by the early 1900s.
