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Boom and Bust: New Mexico's Ghost Towns
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19614 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
10 / 1991 |
3,659 Words |
| Author
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Martha Oehmke Loustaunau
Martha Oehmke Loustaunau is a sociologist on the faculty of
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. |
Tumbleweeds bow in clouds of dust across an abandoned street, coming to a halt against splintered wooded steps, while doors hanging on rusty hinges bang incessantly in the wind. Shadows seem to appear fleetingly behind shattered windows, while a faded signboard that once announced "Saloon" to a boisterous clientele swings unheeded to and fro.
This is the Hollywood ghost town, the lonely, dust-covered depository of forgotten dreams, unruly passions, and dastardly deeds. New Mexico is a state liberally dotted with "ghost towns," and some do fit the stereotypical descriptions. Towns that were bound up with the discovery of gold or silver often experienced a meteoric race to fame, followed by an equally rapid descent into oblivion when the vein played out. Without resource or recourse, they did indeed return to dust, the only evidence of their existence a chunk of adobe and the flotsam and jetsam of lives once lived, buried in the sands. Other "would-be" ghost towns have survived in varying degrees, and some have seen an actual rebirth. Why and how these early settlements grew, survived, or died has much to say about America, its cultural development, roots, and values.
Dust to dust
The phenomenon of abandoned communities is not new. According to anthropological speculation, Indian settlements, such as the Anasazi in northwestern New Mexico, flourished and were later suddenly and totally abandoned, most probably due to droughts, area-wide misfortunes, or natural disasters.
A primary basis for the growth and survival of towns and communities has always been the availability of or access to food and water. Flood and drought, the rise and fall of water tables, productive soils, and plentiful game were prime considerations for early settlement. Land titles, seed, and a few cattle or sheep have served as enticements for colonization, but the changing routes of rivers and railroads have dictated the birth and death of many a town.
Precious metals excited the greed of exploiters, but their discovery also offered an economic base, a support for community and cultural growth, and hope for a better life. It was these discoveries that created "boomtowns" and attracted a colorful variety of inhabitants. The motivations and rewards for coming and staying in an unsettled area had to be sufficient to overcome the hardship. Newspapers of the times are peppered with stories of Indian massacres, wild animal attacks, epidemics, and natural disasters.
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