Authors in the early days outside White Oaks New Mexico March 17, 1880
The trail heading North East from White Oaks, past Baxter Mountain ran up a twisting canyon for about 15 miles where it emptied into a wide valley which generally ran up to Las Vegas New Mexico . This was the natural path to head north as going to the future site of Carrizozo added 30 miles to the trip. Prior to 1899 the road heading west from White Oaks came out if the valley and turned North West heading to Carthage, the nearest railroad , thus route can be seen on google earth still today thanks to the fertilizer deposited by the ore train teams.
Around 1903 ,mid year I recollect Steve and Rob wandered down from Las Vegas and came across a town called Ancho situated where the trail from White Oaks met the new railroad track. Wouldn’t call it a town, more of a scattered bunch of dwellings. The depot, a few wooden store fronts, no structure of brick or masonry. a few adobe buildings that comprises the brick factory east of town center.Later a brick school house was built. Almost all the structures were built on either side of the railroad, which ran to the Northeast. The population was mostly Mexican, working at the brick plant and the crusher. Ranchers and a few railroad gangs completed the citizens. The primary families were the Wardens. Hightowers, Woods, coopers. Straley, spaid and Bonds. A dairy was on the West ,about a mile down the track from town. The families living here suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedies. Most likely the dear reader of today simply could not keep going if faced with what these people of ancho dealt with .
Ancho never came close to White Oaks as far as civilization was concerned. No lawyers. Law enforcement, court house, no doctor, no assortment of stores. But just like White Oaks, Ancho came and went , Ancho is deserted, White Oaks has along with 50 or so current residents. today Ancho was more of a meeting place for ranchers. Sheep raisers with a small company town portion of the railroad and brick plant. You can still find a red brick with ancho embossed on it today. Its said Ancho brick was shipped to San Francisco to help rebuild after the earthquake. Phelps dodge shut the plant down for good In the early 1920s. During the great depression Rob and Steve saw families living in the brick kilns , panning for gold as they wandered, by foot to California. Later on, when the town was disappearing the depot was purchased by an old time family and moved off the track and turned into my house of old things. As people left , rather than abandon household items, they were given to the house if old things.
When the authors came by in the early 1980s the place was stuffed with everyday items that the authors were very familiar with ,as they were from a time long ago when the authors were young. It was a melancholy feeling looking at things that were important to people that had been long forgotten. Today’s people are missing important life lessons by ignoring these kind of places. Too bad for them the authors say. Too g d bad .