Alma, New Mexico

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Alma, New Mexico
Census-designated place
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Alma
Location within the state of New Mexico
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Alma
Alma (the United States)
Coordinates: 33°22′46″N108°54′12″W / 33.37944°N 108.90333°W / 33.37944; -108.90333 [1]
Country United States
State New Mexico
County Catron
Area
[2]
 • Total3.26 sq mi (8.44 km2)
 • Land3.25 sq mi (8.43 km2)
 • Water0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)
Population
 (2020) [3]
 • Total47
 • Density14.44/sq mi (5.58/km2)
Time zone UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-6 (MDT)
Area code 575
FIPS code 35-02560
GNIS feature ID903113

Alma [1] is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Catron County, New Mexico, United States, north of Glenwood and south of Reserve.

Contents

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
2020 47—
U.S. Decennial Census [4]

History

Sergeant James C. Cooney laid out a town on site of Alma in the early 1870s, but left it undeveloped. The town was bought by a Captain Birney, who named it "Alma" for his mother. In 1882 the U.S. Post Office opened in Alma, lasting until 1931.

The town was home of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's infamous Wild Bunch gang for a short period. They worked at the nearby WS ranch. [5] Reportedly, the foreman and ranch manager were very happy with the Wild Bunch's work since the rustling stopped while they were employed at the ranch. [6] Tom Ketchum, Harvey Logan and William Antrim, Billy the Kid's stepfather, also lived in Alma at some point. [7] Artist Olaf Wieghorst once worked on the Cunningham Ranch near Alma.

Charlie Siringo wrote that Butch Cassidy "ran a saloon there under the name of Jim Lowe." [8]

Alma is the site of a Boot Hill cemetery, which is located about two miles north of the town.

Alma Massacre

The "Alma Massacre" involved an Indian raid on United States settlers' homes around Alma in 1880. As many as 41 people were killed during and immediately after the event. There were two memorials erected to commemorate these events.

Present

Today, Alma is labeled as a "ghost town" by the New Mexico Tourism Department. Situated on U.S. Route 180, the town has a restaurant and a small store, as well as a few dozen scattered homes. There is a cemetery with more than 100 burials dating from the 1880s to present. The well-kept grounds are marked with a hand-crafted sign. [9] There are several other cemeteries in Alma's proximity, as well, including the WS Ranch Cemetery [10] and Cooney's Tomb. [11]

The town is in the middle of the Blue Range Wilderness, which is part of New Mexico's Gila National Forest and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona.

In the 1998 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced the Mexican gray wolf to its historic range, including the area surrounding Alma. [12] Ranchers in the area have expressed concerns about the impact of the wolf on the local cattle population while environmentalists contend that ranchers are not managing their herds properly. [13] [14] In 2000 a local newspaper reported a number of wolf sightings and wolf attacks on cattle. [15] Meanwhile, environmentalists in the area contend that the federal government is acting in the favor of the ranchers, with forty-nine percent of all reintroduced wolves "captured or killed because of conflicts with ranchers." [13] The wolf reintroduction program remains a "hot issue", and there are environmentalists, ranchers, law enforcement, and a variety of others involved. [14]

Education

It is in the Reserve Independent School District. [16]

Related Research Articles

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Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was one of the loosely organized outlaw gangs operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall, near Kaycee in Wyoming, a natural fortress of caves, with a narrow entrance that was constantly guarded. In the beginning, the gang was referred to as the "Hole in the Wall Gang" during the Old West era in the United States. It was popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and took its name from the original Wild Bunch. The gang was led by Butch Cassidy, and it included his closest friends Elzy Lay, the Sundance Kid, Tall Texan, News Carver, Camilla "Deaf Charley" Hanks, Laura Bullion, Flat-Nose Curry, Kid Curry, and Bob Meeks. They were the most successful train-robbing gang in history.

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Luna is a census-designated place in northwestern Catron County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 158. It is situated on the San Francisco River and U.S. Route 180, 7 miles (11 km) east of the Arizona border and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Reserve, the Catron county seat.

James C. Cooney was a sergeant of the U.S. Army in the 8th U.S. Cavalry when he found large silver and gold reserves in the Mogollon Mountains of Catron County, New Mexico. He was transferred to Fort Bayard, near Silver City, New Mexico in 1870. While scouting for the 8th U.S. Cavalry north of Mogollon and east of Alma, he discovered silver ore in the Mogollon Mountains. He began working the claim after leaving the Army in 1876.

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Cooney is a ghost town in Catron County, New Mexico, United States, east of Alma. Cooney was once home to gold and silver prospectors in the nearby Mogollon Mountains.

Cooney's Tomb is a historic location near Alma, Catron County, New Mexico. Marked by a large boulder on the side of a roadway, it is the site where former Army Sergeant James C. Cooney was interred in 1880 after being killed by a group of Apaches.

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Alma, New Mexico
  2. ↑ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  5. ↑ French, Capt William: Memoirs of a Western Ranchman
  6. ↑ Gibson, E. (nd) Kid Curry, the Wildest of the Bunch Archived 2003-12-19 at the Wayback Machine ; retrieved 11 June 2007.
  7. ↑ (nd) "Alma" Ghost Towns, Atjeu Publishing; retrieved 31 May 2011
  8. ↑ Siringo, Charles (1912). A Cowboy Detective. Arcadia Press. pp. 138, 143. ISBN   9781545001882.
  9. ↑ "Alma" Archived 2010-11-28 at the Wayback Machine . New Mexico Tourism Department. Retrieved 11/16/10.
  10. ↑ "WS Ranch Cemetery" Archived 2010-11-29 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 11/17/10.
  11. ↑ "Cooney's Tomb" Archived 2010-11-29 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 11/17/10.
  12. ↑ "Welcome to the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program", US Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 11/15/10.
  13. 1 2 Valdez, L. (May 22, 2008) "Wolf country: Ranchers fighting comeback of a predator that's good for the land", The Arizona Republic .
  14. 1 2 Holmes, S.M., June 27, 2007. "Wolf program remains hot issue" Archived May 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine , Mail Tribune.
  15. ↑ "Return of the wolf", Mountain Times. February 2000. Retrieved 11/15/10.
  16. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Catron County, NM" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved July 12, 2022.

Bibliography

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