Silver City
By J. Young

The Silver City area has a rich history dating back to 1300 a.d. when the Mogollon and Salado people settled on the side of a cliff at the Gila cliff dwellings. To this day, this site remains open for viewing. Over the following 500 years, the Chiricahua and warm springs Apache made the valley area at the southern slopes of the Pinos Altos mountain range their home, close to where Silver City now sits. Notably, Geronimo was said to have been born here in 1829. With an elevation of just under 5,900 ft, the area showcases a unique mix of desert and mountain terrain, earning a high desert classification. It is widely recognized for having the darkest skies in the nation, making it the perfect destination for stargazing enthusiasts.

Upon the discovery of Copper underneath The Kneeling Nun, the influx of Spanish settlers displaced the Apache community in the region. The Spanish army established a nearby base known as Fort Santa Rita Del Cobre to further their interests in the area.

The region boasts of having the largest open pit copper mine globally, established by the settlers. Eventually, the mine was acquired by John Murchison and shared with The Chino-Kennecott mining company. The area was named “La Ciénega de San Vicente” (The Marsh or Oasis of Saint Vincent) by the new settlers.

Following the Gadsden purchase, the southern regions of New Mexico and Arizona, including La Ciénega de San Vicente, experienced an influx of Anglo settlers. This demographic shift occurred during a time of expansion for the United States and resulted in substantial changes to the region’s cultural landscape.
In 1870 a large deposit of silver ore was discovered on a hill just west of Army Captain John Bullard’s farm. As well as gold in various places around La Ciénega de San Vicente.

The Anglos settlement kicked the town and mining business into high gear and La Ciénega de San Vicente became known as and renamed Silver City and was officially founded in the summer of 1870. Captain John M. Bullard and his brother James designed the layout of the streets of Silver City as a grid pattern with main roads running North to South.
At first a large tent city was set up for living quarters while they built more permanent homes. Knowing the town was set in a large Valley the men built their homes and businesses up high as the sidewalks.
But Mr. Bullard never lived to see the beginning of the success he had started because he was killed in a confrontation with a local Apache tribe less than a year later. 

Silver City established a government and schooling system, which is the oldest in the state to date. A post office was established in 1878, incorporating the city. The city was in agreement at the time for all men to commit to two days labor for street and town maintenance per month.

The high altitude, climate and the many surrounding geothermal hot springs around Silver City became a healing rehabilitation for consumptives. It was also known as “The world’s sanatorium” or “A consumptive paradise” calling Silver City “a place air conditioned by nature.”
Later around 1900 a sanatorium area with dozens of small homes would be built for the sick.

Hauling ore in wagons from the mines was becoming a heavy burden and a railway was built in 1886 to haul the ore from the mines.
In 1907 one of the trains hauling gold and silver ore was not properly fitted with air brakes and became a runaway and crashed causing the death of a railroad fireman and a representative from the locomotive company.

Just before that in 1893 Silver City’s “Normal school” was built and 70 years later its name was changed to The Western New Mexico University. 

In 1895 Silver City suffered a bad flood in the darkness of the night. Simply building the sidewalks and building on an elevation was not enough. Between 9 and midnight on July 23rd the area was soaked by heavy rainfall and as the rain ran downhill off of the surrounding mountains, the water came raging down main street knocking down some of the weaker structures and causing mass panic and chaos.

Afterwards the town rebuilt the main street, dug a canal and a bridge over the road as well as a dam to divert high waters from the main street.

A heavy rainfall caused high waters again in early August 1903. The siphon at the dam was put into use and it worked well. However a few days later another raging rainstorm hit wiping out most of Main street.

Silver City was always a rough and rugged town dating back to the 1870s with a high crime rate.
In 1874 Grant County hired a sheriff named Harvey Whitehill. Sheriff Whitehill was able to get the town’s crime rate under control and he also became the first lawman to arrest Billy the Kid.
Later in 1878 Silver City was getting pretty rough again and hired Dangerous Dan Tucker as Marshal and he really did clean up the town. Tucker never hesitated during a confrontation and pulled the trigger down on many criminals, putting them in the dirt. Tucker grew an admiring reputation and was idolized by the local youth.

If you are visiting Silver City today check out The Silver City Museum and the big ditch that was once main street. Check out the visitors center as well. They have built a replica cabin at the location they think was where The Antrim family lived. The cabin was used in the movie “The Missing”