Pinos Altos, New Mexico

Pinos Altos is a census-designated place in Grant County, New Mexico. The community was a mining town, formed in 1860 following the discovery of gold in the nearby Pinos Altos Mountains. The town site is located about five to ten miles north of the present day Silver City, New Mexico. Although once abandoned, the town is now a place for summer homes and caters to tourists. Its population was 198 as of the 2010 census.[2]

Pinos Altos, New Mexico
Census-designated place
Pinos Altos
Pinos Altos
Coordinates: 32°51′48″N 108°13′17″W
CountryUnited States
StateNew Mexico
CountyGrant
Area
 • Total0.756 sq mi (1.96 km2)
 • Land0.756 sq mi (1.96 km2)
 • Water0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation
7,011 ft (2,137 m)
Population
 • Total198
 • Density260/sq mi (100/km2)
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code
88053
Area code(s)575
GNIS feature ID920663[3]

Originally named Birchville, after prospector and former outlaw, Robert H. Birch, one of three people who found the first gold, it later took the Spanish name Pinos Altos, meaning tall pines, because there were tall trees growing in the area. These were cut down as the town grew to a population of about 9,000 during the 1880s and 1890s before slowly being abandoned during the early 1900s. Today, many of the original buildings remain.[4]

From the discovery of gold in 1860 until late 1861, miners were harassed by Apache Indians opposed to American and Mexican settlers occupying their lands. On September 27, 1861, it was the site of the Battle of Pinos Altos between the Arizona Guards of Pinos Altos, a Confederate Arizona Territorial militia company, and Apache warriors led by Mangas Coloradas and Cochise. This battle did not end the conflict between settlers and Native Americans, which continued for several years, with neither side particularly willing to see the dispute resolved peacefully. Even when a treaty was eventually negotiated between the settlers and Indians, a settler hosting a dinner to celebrate the signing opened fire on 60 unarmed Indians, killing and injuring many of those assembled. Indian hostility continued until the military built permanent forts in the area, most significant of which was Fort Bayard, established a few miles to the southeast in 1866.[4]

Senator George Hearst invested in several Pinos Altos mines, including the Mina Grande and the Pacific Mine. He built a stamp mill in Pinos Altos in 1889, and incorporated the Silver City, Pinos Altos and Mogollon Railroad to connect these properties to his Silver City smelter. Comanche Mining and Smelting Company completed the 2-foot narrow gauge railroad in 1906; but the railroad closed when the price of copper plunged the following year.[5]

The town's ZIP code is 88053.[6] The post office is located in the Pinos Altos Ice Cream Parlor. The old opera house has been combined into a restaurant with the Buckhorn Saloon.

Notes
  1. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  3. "Pinos Altos". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  4. Pinos Altos or Birchville, Retrieved from Ghosttowns.com on 14 January 2011.
  5. Ericson, Duane (2007). Silver City Narrow Gauge. M2FQ Publications.
  6. NM Home Town Locator: Pinos Altos, NM, Community Profile
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