Golden, New Mexico | |
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Coordinates: 35°16′01″N106°12′50″W / 35.26694°N 106.21389°W | |
Country | United States |
State | New Mexico |
County | Santa Fe |
Area | |
• Total | 6.73 sq mi (17.42 km2) |
• Land | 6.73 sq mi (17.42 km2) |
• Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
Elevation | 6,637 ft (2,023 m) |
Population | |
• Total | 19 |
• Density | 2.82/sq mi (1.09/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
ZIP code | 87047 |
Area code | 505 |
Census Class Code | U5 |
Golden is a census-designated place (CDP) located between the towns of Cedar Crest and Madrid in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States.
Golden is located at 35°16′01″N 106°12′50″W. Golden is located along the Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway and is about ten miles north of the Sandia Park junction on NM-14.
Golden was inhabited by Native Americans and Spaniards long before American settlers came to the area. However, it began to boom when gold was discovered in 1825. Years before the California and Colorado gold rushes, the site of Golden became the first gold rush west of the Mississippi River.
Placer gold was first discovered on Tuerto Creek on the southwest side of the Ortiz Mountains and in the late 1820s two small mining camps, El Real de San Francisco and Placer del Tuerto, developed as a result of the mineral finds. The area remained quiet for decades until several large companies began to put money into the mines, bringing in numerous workers, and followed by many individual prospectors. It was shortly after these mining camps were formed that the San Francisco Catholic Church was built around 1830.
Just south of Tuerto, a new town called Golden was being formed, which soon absorbed both El Real de San Francisco and Placer del Tuerto. Officially formed in 1879, Golden was selected as the center of the new gold-mining district and soon grew to support several saloons, businesses, a school, and even a stock exchange. In 1880, the post office was opened. [3]
But mining continued on a small scale until about 1892 and ranching continued to be a mainstay of the economy. In 1918 the Golden General Merchandise Store opened, which is the only business in town that continues to operate today. It is now referred to by the locals as Henderson General Store, giving credit to its owner.
By 1928, the population was so reduced that the post office closed and Golden officially became a ghost town. For years afterwards, its many abandoned buildings remained, tumbling down between its few remaining occupied structures. During this time, vandalism also took its toll on the town and its remaining structures, but a few crumbling ruins still provide excellent photo opportunities. Golden's most photographed building is the San Francisco Catholic Church, which was restored by historian and author, Fray Angelico Chavez, in 1960, while he was the padre of the St Joseph Church in Los Cerrillos. Across the highway, west of the church, are the ruins of another large structure, as well as mining remnants. [4]
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | 19 | — | |
U.S. Decennial Census [5] [2] |
Today, Golden has seen a small rebirth as new residents have moved into the area, building new homes and restoring others, but still it remains a sleepy village with vivid reminders of its more robust past. It is home to the Henderson Store, which sells Native American jewelry and pottery. [6]
It is within Moriarty-Edgewood School District. [7]
Dewey–Humboldt is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population of the town was 3,894 according to the 2010 census. The Dewey–Humboldt area was a census-designated place (CDP) at the 2000 census, at which time its population was 6,295.
Lake City is a statutory town that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Hinsdale County, Colorado, United States. The population was 432 at the 2020 census. It is located in the San Juan Mountains in a valley formed by the convergence of Henson Creek and the headwaters of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River about seven miles (11 km) east of Uncompahgre Peak, a Colorado fourteener. Lake City is named after nearby Lake San Cristobal. This area lies at the southern end of the Colorado Mineral Belt and when rich mineral deposits were discovered the native population was pushed from their tribal lands and the town of Lake City was incorporated in 1873.
Los Cerrillos is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 229 at the 2000 census. Accessible from State Highway 14 or The Turquoise Trail, Cerrillos is on the road from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, closer to Santa Fe. There are several shops and galleries, a post office, and the Cerrillos Hills State Park, which has five miles of hiking trails. The Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum contains hundreds of artifacts from the American Old West and the Cerrillos Mining District. It also displays cardboard cutouts of characters from the film Young Guns and information on other movies which have been filmed in and around Cerrillos.
Madrid is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 149 at the 2000 census and 204 in 2010. Today, Madrid has become an artists' community with galleries lining New Mexico State Road 14. It retains remnants of its history with the Mineshaft Tavern and the Coal Mine Museum.
Magdalena is a village in Socorro County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 938 at the 2010 census.
Hillsboro is an unincorporated community in Sierra County, New Mexico, United States, located in the southwestern part of the state. It was founded in 1877, following the discovery of gold. The community was the county seat of Sierra County from 1884 until 1936, when Hot Springs became the county seat.
Fairbank is a ghost town in Cochise County, Arizona, next to the San Pedro River. First settled in 1881, Fairbank was the closest rail stop to nearby Tombstone, which made it an important location in the development of southeastern Arizona. The town was named for Chicago investor Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank who partially financed the railroad, and was the founder of the Grand Central Mining Company, which had an interest in the silver mines in Tombstone. Today Fairbank is located within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.
Ojuela was a small mining settlement located northwest of the nearest town Mapimí, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northwest. The settlement is now well known as a ghost town as a result of the ore being exhausted.
Charleston is a ghost town in Cochise County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. It was occupied from the late-1870s through the late-1880s, and was located in what was then known as the Arizona Territory. Located on the west bank of the San Pedro River, Charleston's economy was based on milling silver ore mined from nearby Tombstone in the community of Millville, located directly across the river.
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.
Organ is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 323.
Bonanza City is a ghost town, located 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Santa Fe in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. The town was founded in 1880 as a mining town, following the discovery of gold and silver in the nearby Cerrillos Hills. It was abandoned sometime in the early 1900s. Later in the 20th century, The Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch, which contains a movie set depicting a late 19th century mining town, was built near the ruins of Bonanza City.
Morley was a town in Las Animas County, Colorado, that existed between 1878 and 1956. The town was located near the summit of Raton Pass and was originally a railroad stop, before being developed into a coal mining town by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I). Morley was a CF&I company town for fifty years until 1956 when the mine was closed and the town demolished.
Silver Bell is a ghost town in the Silver Bell Mountains in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The name "Silver Bell" refers to a more recent ghost town, which was established in 1954 and abandoned in 1984. The original town, established in 1904, was named "Silverbell" and abandoned in the early 1930s. Both towns were utilized and later abandoned due to the mining of copper in the area.
Kingston is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sierra County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 32 as of the 2010 census. The community is located in the Black Range along New Mexico State Road 152.
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