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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.
As a sergeant in the 8th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bayard, James C. Cooney came to New Mexico in 1870. While on duty as a scout, he discovered silver-bearing rock in the nearby Mogollon Mountains, but did not disclose his findings. After his discharge in 1875, he came to the area in 1876 with two companions to work the claim. [1]
On April 29, 1880, Sergeant Cooney, Jack Chick, and a man whose last name was Buhlman were on horseback riding to Alma to warn the settlers of an Indian attack at the Cooney mine and the town of Cooney. Victorio had led a group of Chiricahua Apache tribal members in the massacre. Shortly thereafter, Sergeant Cooney's brother Michael and miners from nearby Pinos Altos drilled, blasted and chipped a sepulcher for his remains in a large boulder. The Sergeant has remained interred there since. [2] [3]
The area around the tomb soon became a cemetery with a collection of graves. Four graves in front of Cooney's Tomb were enclosed in a low wrought iron fence. A flood washed away those graves, along with two large marble stone markers. The road by the tomb was rebuilt. [4]
Cooney's brother, Captain Michael Cooney, took over his mine after his death. A town called Cooney was founded shortly thereafter. Michael Cooney died while searching for a lost gold mine in the Mogollon mountains, and the canyon where his body was found was named Cooney Canyon. [5] Today, Cooney's Tomb is located about 5 miles east of Alma in Cooney Canyon on Mineral Creek. In 2009, The Conservation Fund helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acquire 40 acres, including the tomb, from a private owner. [4] The tomb is now located within the Gila National Forest.
Chiricahua is a band of Apache Native Americans.
Catron County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,579, making it New Mexico's third-least populous county. Its county seat is Reserve. Catron County is New Mexico's largest county by area.
The Apache–Sitgreaves National Forests is a 2.76-million-acre (11,169 km2) United States National Forest which runs along the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains in east-central Arizona and into the U.S. state of New Mexico. Formerly two forests, it is currently managed as one unit by USDA Forest Service from the Forest Supervisors Office in Springerville, Arizona. Apache–Sitgreaves has over 400 species of wildlife. With its high elevation and cool summer breezes it is a popular weekend destination from the hot desert for Phoenix, Arizona, residents. The forest is divided into 5 Ranger Districts that span almost 300 miles (480 km) from Clifton, Arizona in the east-central portion of Arizona to the eastern boundary of the Coconino National Forest in north-central Arizona. The Apache–Sitgreaves National Forest borders the western and northern borders of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. It is located in parts of Greenlee, Apache, Navajo, and Coconino counties in eastern and east-central Arizona, and Catron County in western New Mexico. The more northwesterly Sitgreaves National Forest portion lies adjacent to the north side of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation and is located entirely in Arizona, within Navajo, Apache, and Coconino counties. It has a total area of 818,651 acres (3,313 km2). The more southeasterly and much larger Apache National Forest portion lies adjacent to the east side of the Fort Apache and the San Carlos Indian Reservations. It lies on both sides of the border with New Mexico, in Greenlee, Catron, and Apache counties. It has a total area of 1,813,601 acres (7,339 km2).
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is a U.S. National Monument created to protect Mogollon cliff dwellings in the Gila Wilderness on the headwaters of the Gila River in southwest New Mexico. The 533-acre (2.16 km2) national monument was established by President Theodore Roosevelt through executive proclamation on November 16, 1907. It is located in the extreme southern portion of Catron County. Visitors can access the monument by traveling northbound from Silver City, New Mexico, 45 miles (72 km) on NM 15.
Aragon is a census-designated place on the Tularosa River in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 94. It is located at an altitude of 7,135 feet (2,175 m), 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Apache Creek.
The history of Arizona encompasses the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Post-Archaic, Spanish, Mexican, and American periods. About 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians settled in what is now Arizona. A few thousand years ago, the Ancestral Puebloan, the Hohokam, the Mogollon and the Sinagua cultures inhabited the state. However, all of these civilizations mysteriously disappeared from the region in the 15th and 16th centuries. Today, countless ancient ruins can be found in Arizona. Arizona was part of the state of Sonora, Mexico from 1822, but the settled population was small. In 1848, under the terms of the Mexican Cession the United States took possession of Arizona above the Gila River after the Mexican War, and became part of the Territory of New Mexico. By means of the Gadsden Purchase, the United States secured the northern part of the state of Sonora, which is now Arizona south of the Gila River in 1854.
The Plains of San Agustin is a region in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico in the San Agustin Basin, south of U.S. Highway 60. The area spans Catron and Socorro Counties, about 50 miles (80 km) west of the town of Socorro and about 25 miles north of Reserve. The plains extend roughly northeast-southwest, with a length of about 55 miles (88 km) and a width varying between 5–15 miles (8–24 km). The basin is bounded on the south by the Luera Mountains and Pelona Mountain ; on the west by the Tularosa Mountains; on the north by the Mangas, Crosby, Datil, and Gallinas Mountains; and on the east by the San Mateo Mountains. The Continental Divide lies close to much of the southern and western boundaries of the plains.
The Gila National Forest is a United States National Forest in New Mexico. Established in 1905, it now covers approximately 2,710,659 acres (10,969.65 km2), making it the sixth largest National Forest in the continental United States. The Forest administration also manage the part of the Apache National Forest in New Mexico which covers 614,202 acres for a total of 3.3 million acres managed by the Gila National Forest. Within the forest, the Gila Wilderness was established in 1924 as the US's first designated wilderness. The Aldo Leopold Wilderness and Blue Range Wilderness are also found within its borders. The Blue Range Primitive Area lies within Arizona in the neighboring Apache National Forest.
The Mogollon Mountains or Mogollon Range are a mountain range in Grant County and Catron County of southwestern New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. They are primarily protected within the Gila National Forest.
James, Jim or Jimmy Cooney may refer to:
Mogollon, also called the Mogollon Historic District, is a former mining town located in the Mogollon Mountains in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. Located east of Glenwood and Alma, it was founded in the 1880s at the bottom of Silver Creek Canyon to support the gold and silver mines in the surrounding mountains. The "Little Fannie" mine became the most important employer for the town. During the 1890s, Mogollon had a transient population of between 3,000 and 6,000 miners. Because of its isolation, it had a reputation as one of the wildest mining towns in the West. Today Mogollon is listed as Fannie Hill Mill and Company Town Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
Alma is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Catron County, New Mexico, United States, north of Glenwood and south of Reserve.
Glenwood is a census-designated place in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 143. The area was founded in 1878 as Bush Ranch. Located near the San Francisco River, Glenwood is 61 miles (98 km) northwest of Silver City on U.S. Route 180, and is 38 miles (61 km) south of Reserve.
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.
The Alma Massacre involved an April 28, 1880, Chiricahua Apache raid on United States settlers' homes around Alma, New Mexico Territory. At least 41 people were killed during the raid.
Apache Creek is a census-designated place in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 67. Located 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Cruzville, it is situated at the confluence of Apache Creek and the Tularosa River. The Apache Creek Pueblo, also called the "Apache Creek Ruin", is near the town. It was listed by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Commission in 1969.
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.
The Canyon Creek Mountains are a short 10 miles (16 km) long, mountain range located in southeast Catron County, New Mexico near the source of the Gila River and north of the Gila Wilderness. The Elk Mountains are adjacent northwest, where the continental divide passes from north to east on the south of the Plains of San Agustin.
Victorio's War, or the Victorio Campaign, was an armed conflict between the Apache followers of Chief Victorio, the United States, and Mexico beginning in September 1879. Faced with arrest and forcible relocation from his homeland in New Mexico to San Carlos Indian Reservation in southeastern Arizona, Victorio led a guerrilla war across southern New Mexico, west Texas and northern Mexico. Victorio fought many battles and skirmishes with the United States Army and raided several settlements until the Mexican Army killed him and most of his warriors in October 1880 in the Battle of Tres Castillos. After Victorio's death, his lieutenant Nana led a raid in 1881.
Grouse Mountain is located in the Gila Wilderness in Catron County, New Mexico. Grouse Mountain is found in the Mogollon Mountains. For New Mexico, Grouse Mountain is ranked the 198th highest peak, and 619th by prominence.