The rest of the town isn't so neat. Click on the pic below to view the town "law". The policeman is a manekin head wired to the headrest!
I mentioned dramatic scenery. We drove up 2000 ft to nearly 6000. It was nice and cool up there. We were also in some of the curviest, roller-coaster roads we have ever been on--and in open range!
These weren't the first cattle to make us wait.
We had not seen a double hairpin curve before!
The Haves and Have-nots. Not all these cattle are in the fence.
We also drove through Winston. This town sprang up when a group of families in Chloride rebelled against the sinful ways of that town and created their own town--with a church. At its height the town had a population of about 1500. Its pretty dilapidated now. The nicest building is the one on the left--the original General Store, now the modern general store. We stopped here on our way home for cold drinks and a restroom break. The restrooms are actually bathrooms with showers!
Our goal on this trip was Chloride, founded in 1879 when silver chloride ore was discovered. At its height it was home to 3000 residents. Originally a tent city, by 1881 it had 8 saloons, 3 mercantile stores, 2 butcher shops, a hotel, boarding huses, an assay office, livery stables, a candy store, drug store, law office, a Chinese laundry, and a millinery store.
Interesting concept.
Past and present meet.
Chloride declined in the mid 1890's when the U.S. goverrnment selected gold as the monetary standard, dropping the price of silver so low it wasn't worth hauling out. In 1923 the owners of the Pioneer Store locked the doors and walked away. Only bats and rats occupied the place until the late 1990's when it was bought and restored over several years. All the tools below were displayed on shelves. The owners decided they could be better seen if displayed on the walls. Otherwise the merchandise was cleaned and replaced as it was.
Original clothing display.
Shelves of canned goods and tonics. Brands used then include Maxwell House and Folgers coffee, Quaker Quick Oats, Calumet Baking Soda, Del Monte tomatoes, and of course, Prince Albert in a can.
Several residents at the time were children of the miners. Two of these were especially helpful to the new owners. In their honer space was given in the museum. One of these was Cassie Hobbs, who made almost everything for her house and herself by hand. Below is her hand crocheted sun hat.
She made dolls, painted, made designed and made her clothes, and assembled and carved her home furniture. Her husband Earl, a cowboy, was away from home most of the time, so Cassie took care to make herself comfortable.
Crocheted shoes. Behind and to the left are crocheted boots (from cotton thread usually used to make collars, cuffs, and doilies) which Cassie was making when she died.
Original store as it looked when it was in business.
To the left is the Monte Cristo, originally one of the saloons. With 42 school age children in town, it was rented for a school. Undaunted, the owner opened up a new saloon across the street. In its heyday, Chloride was as unruly a mining town as any. Where the silver flowed, so did the whiskey and of course the people who made the money were the people with something to sell. Chloride still has a few residents, as to all the little towns on the Byway, but mostly the towns are slowly being reclaimed by the desert.
The Monte Cristo today houses work from local artists--paintings, photographs, handmade items of all kinds.
Once the bank was built, there was no money to put in it, so it became.......a saloon!
Hangin' tree. No one was hanged here, but unruly people were tied to it until they sobered up. It still markes the middle of town.
Cassie and Earl's place, also Cassie's workshop or "doodle dum" as she called it, are made of native stone. Both are registered historical places.
Backtracking on the road, we entered Winston and happened to capture these two trikes for our biker friends.
Serendipity sent these two pronghorns for our viewing pleasure.
Outside Cuchillo we found these well tended fields.
Most of the towns look like this--dilapidated and overgrown and looking like only ghosts live there. Note the "law" in the lower left corner.
We have enjoyed our stay in this area, despite daytime temps in the upper nineties and winds every afternoon until dark. The winds today are gusting up to 70mph, but we don't mind. They just help cool things off. Tomorrow we intend to end up in Deming, so our blogging will be more sporadic. Stay tuned, though. We just might sneak off to someplace unexpected!
Our goal on this trip was Chloride, founded in 1879 when silver chloride ore was discovered. At its height it was home to 3000 residents. Originally a tent city, by 1881 it had 8 saloons, 3 mercantile stores, 2 butcher shops, a hotel, boarding huses, an assay office, livery stables, a candy store, drug store, law office, a Chinese laundry, and a millinery store.
Interesting concept.
Past and present meet.
Chloride declined in the mid 1890's when the U.S. goverrnment selected gold as the monetary standard, dropping the price of silver so low it wasn't worth hauling out. In 1923 the owners of the Pioneer Store locked the doors and walked away. Only bats and rats occupied the place until the late 1990's when it was bought and restored over several years. All the tools below were displayed on shelves. The owners decided they could be better seen if displayed on the walls. Otherwise the merchandise was cleaned and replaced as it was.
Original clothing display.
Shelves of canned goods and tonics. Brands used then include Maxwell House and Folgers coffee, Quaker Quick Oats, Calumet Baking Soda, Del Monte tomatoes, and of course, Prince Albert in a can.
Several residents at the time were children of the miners. Two of these were especially helpful to the new owners. In their honer space was given in the museum. One of these was Cassie Hobbs, who made almost everything for her house and herself by hand. Below is her hand crocheted sun hat.
She made dolls, painted, made designed and made her clothes, and assembled and carved her home furniture. Her husband Earl, a cowboy, was away from home most of the time, so Cassie took care to make herself comfortable.
Crocheted shoes. Behind and to the left are crocheted boots (from cotton thread usually used to make collars, cuffs, and doilies) which Cassie was making when she died.
Original store as it looked when it was in business.
To the left is the Monte Cristo, originally one of the saloons. With 42 school age children in town, it was rented for a school. Undaunted, the owner opened up a new saloon across the street. In its heyday, Chloride was as unruly a mining town as any. Where the silver flowed, so did the whiskey and of course the people who made the money were the people with something to sell. Chloride still has a few residents, as to all the little towns on the Byway, but mostly the towns are slowly being reclaimed by the desert.
The Monte Cristo today houses work from local artists--paintings, photographs, handmade items of all kinds.
Once the bank was built, there was no money to put in it, so it became.......a saloon!
Hangin' tree. No one was hanged here, but unruly people were tied to it until they sobered up. It still markes the middle of town.
Cassie and Earl's place, also Cassie's workshop or "doodle dum" as she called it, are made of native stone. Both are registered historical places.
Backtracking on the road, we entered Winston and happened to capture these two trikes for our biker friends.
Serendipity sent these two pronghorns for our viewing pleasure.
Outside Cuchillo we found these well tended fields.
Most of the towns look like this--dilapidated and overgrown and looking like only ghosts live there. Note the "law" in the lower left corner.
We have enjoyed our stay in this area, despite daytime temps in the upper nineties and winds every afternoon until dark. The winds today are gusting up to 70mph, but we don't mind. They just help cool things off. Tomorrow we intend to end up in Deming, so our blogging will be more sporadic. Stay tuned, though. We just might sneak off to someplace unexpected!
Until more comes along,
Louise and Duane
2 comments:
Super pictures. We loved ELEPHANT BUTTE! The state park was a wonderful camping stop.
Did you two have any thought about putting a bid on that adobe house? Looks like a good fixer upper!
Wonderful photos and travelogue. My great-great grandmother is buried in Chloride. Would love to visit some day.
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