New Mexico is known for its long and varied mining history, including coal, copper, gold, silver, and uranium. But mining is a dangerous pastime, and long before numerous safety measures were put into place, and long before OSHA was ever a thing, miners faced a livelihood filled with peril. Mogollon, New Mexico once had a lively history as a thriving mining town, but the unlucky minors who succumbed to the deadly "miner’s consumption" might think otherwise. It’s one of the eeriest ghost towns in New Mexico, and parts of it are still standing to this day. This Mogollon ghost town now stands as a reminder of what life was like in the early 1900s in New Mexico.
Mogollon is located in southwest New Mexico.
The drive itself through the Mogollon Mounts in Catron County is interesting, with one-lane hairpin curves carved out of the hillside.
Mogollon was once a successful silver mining town.
Some gold was found there as well, though silver was by far the #1 export.
Mining here began in the 1890s.
While several mines were started, a notable one went by the name of Little Fannie (also spelled Little Fanny) Mine.
A camp soon sprung up around it, and for a while, life was good.
At its peak, the town had more than 3,000 residents.
Poor health conditions often caused miners working there to die within three years.
"Miner's consumption", also known as black lung disease, took a huge toll on workers and their families. Even with its reputation as a dusty mine, hopefuls still came in hope for a better life, unaware of the dangers that mining in these times posed.
Mine owners eventually developed a method to reduce the dust to lessen dust inhalation.
Eventually, the town suffered from multiple fires and floods from Silver Creek, which ran through the middle of town.
During its heyday in the early 1900s, gold and silver bullion was mined and shipped by Silver City by mule team.
During World War I, trucks took to hauling the ore.
It once earned a reputation as one of the wildest mining towns in the southwest.
Many unsavory deaths occurred during these days. The town came to a screeching halt, however, not because of the mining-related disease killing workers, but because the market value of the ore decreased to the point where the mines were no longer profitable. This very same thing created many ghost towns in New Mexico.
This 1940 photo shows Mogollon's main street:
Bad fortune came to the town often. In addition to disease and death, it faced disastrous floods in 1894, 1896, 1899, and 1914 and tragic fires in 1894, 1904, 1910, and 1942. It's almost like the town simply was not meant to be - at least not there.
A deadly fire in 1942 practically wiped out the remains of the town.
And when Little Fannie later closed down, people moved away. A few businesses and some residents remain there today... though not many. Mogollon is now also called Mogollon Historic District.
New Mexico has numerous former mining towns that are now mostly ghost towns but provide for an interesting visit. This Mogollon ghost town is one of many similar towns in New Mexico that are filled with history. For example, another tragic coal mining accident led to the demise of this small town.
Have you ever visited an NM ghost town? Was it as spooky as you expected? If ghost towns are a bit too creepy for you, how about a visit to the oldest place in New Mexico?
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