Category: southwest history
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Chapter 21 – The Harpending Papers
Group I Letters James McCallen to “Friend Harpending”, Ralston City, April 2, 1870 This is the earliest communication from Ralston City. In this letter James McCallen, Recorder for the Virginia Mining District, informs Harpending that he and an unstated number of unnamed men were camped “at the mines some…
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CHAPTER 20 – Stalling Tactics
George D. Roberts One of the reasons why the written history of Ralston City and the Virginia Mining District has been so muddled and error – laden from the very beginning is that few people ever realized that the silver boom of 1870 was little more than…
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Odds And Ends – Roberts And Friends
Before moving on to the next chapter, we are including a little more information on Roberts and some of the people involved with him. All of the below photos are screenshots taken from Bullion Annual for 1880, published in 1881 in New York by The Bullion Publishing Company, apart from…
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Chapter 19 – contd. Leitendorf’s or Ralston? Kobbé’s Report
Leitendorf’s Or Ralston? Still another illustration [of camps with a large number of synonyms] is the Lordsburg District of Hidalgo County, which embraces two camps: Pyramid at the south end, and Shakespeare or Virginia at the north end. In some reports these are regarded as separate districts. In Pyramid camp,…
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CHAPTER 19 contd. Pima County & Dubious Claims
Pima County Mining Records, Volume II Although reference to the Pima County Mining Records has been made on several earlier occasions in this work, we return to them here because of their relevance to underscoring the relationship between the main players in the scam to be perpetrated at the…
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PART IV – Ralston City
Preface With some variations, mining stock float scams in the 19th century – Ralston was by no means the first or the last – were akin to what today would be called “pump and dump” stock frauds. These are defined as investment schemes which: “attempt to boost the price of…
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Beginning In The New Year – Part IV
In part IV we will relate the story of Ralston City – its origins, why and how it came into being – up until it underwent the name change to that of Shakespeare. The following is a brief list of some of the topics we will cover in this extremely…
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The End of Mails By Coach Over The Southern Route
Further Curtailments to Route No. 31454 Although the establishing of the railroad station at Lordsburg somewhat affected Route No. 31454, it was the establishing of Deming Junction, and to a lesser extent Deming Station, which had the greatest impact on that route in New Mexico Territory. Almost as soon…
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Some Notes on Ojo de Vaca/Cow Springs
Most of the information below has been included in various sections of this blog. This entry does include some new details not previously posted, but serves mainly as a recap and collation of previously published material. 1807: José Manrique, Capitán Presidial Comapny, El Principe Commandate, led and expedition from…
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Chapter 18, Part II – New Routes, New Towns
As stated in the opening paragraph of this Chapter, the 1878-1882 contract period was the harbinger of change at Ralston, and two factors above all others were the driving forces behind those changes – the expansion of the mining industry in Grant County, and the approach of the Southern Pacific…
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Chapter 18 – Route No. 31454, 1878 – 1882, The National Mail & Transport Co.
Introduction The awarding of the contract for this new four-year period would lead to the most significant changes for Ralston; the settlement would not only be included as a stop on a new route, but would also acquire a new name when, in April of 1879, it would become known…
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Chapter 17 – Route No. 17404, 1874 -1878, Kerens &Mitchell
On March 3, 1874, the names of the successful bidders for the upcoming contract term were published in California. Richard C. Kerens and Mitchell (first name unknown) were awarded the contract for two routes in New Mexico: Las Vegas to Mesilla, and Route No. 17404, Mesilla to San Diego.¹²⁶ News…