Chloride, NM "Ghost Town"

Area mines continued producing ore mostly copper, lead and zinc -- from the turn of the century until about 1931. The post office was open until 1956. About 20 people still live in Chloride, including Mr. and Mrs. Don Edmund. They own a number of the old homes and buildings in town and have restored the Pioneer Store, which is open as a museum. The Edmund Family plans to open a cafe in one of the restored building within the next year.

An Englishman named Harry Pye, a mule skinner and prospector, was delivering freight for the U.S. Army from Hillsboro to Camp Ojo Caliente in 1879 when he discovered silver in the canyon where Chloride is now located. After completing his freighting contract, he and two others returned to the area in 1881 and staked a claim. A tent city grew up nearby and then a town, originally called Pyetown, then Bromide. The name "Chloride" was finally selected, after the high-grade silver ore found there. It became the center for all mining activity in the area, known as the Apache Mining District.

 

During the 1880s, Chloride had 100 homes, 1,000-2,000 people, eight saloons, three general stores, restaurants, butcher shops, a candy store, a lawyer's office, a doctor, boarding houses, an assay office, a stage line, a Chinese laundry and a hotel. Residents even hoped the town would become the county seat. The "Black Range" newspaper operated from 1883 until 1897. (Apaches attacked the Chloride store on Jan. 18, 1881, killing two and injuring one. Harry Pye was killed by Apaches a few months later, apparently because his gun jammed.)

The Don Edmund Family has spent the last 20+ years restoring buildings in Chloride to presserve the history and stories of the New Mexico mining pioneers.  Don Edmund's daughter, Linda Turner, showed us through the Pioneer Musuem and the Monte Cristo, which is now a gift shop with local artists' creations on display and for sale. Click the following link for insight into the town and his family's restoration project.....Choride a piece of NM history