Alma, New Mexico

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

Alma, New Mexico
Ghost town
Alma
Location within the state of New Mexico
Alma
Alma (the United States)
Coordinates: 33°22′46″N 108°54′12″W[1]
CountryUnited States
StateNew Mexico
CountyCatron
Population
 (2018)
 • Total75
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
Area code(s)575
GNIS feature ID903113

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.[2] 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.[3] Tom Ketchum, Harvey Logan and William Antrim, Billy the Kid's stepfather, also lived in Alma at some point.[4] 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."[5]

Alma is the site of a Boot Hill cemetery, which is located about two miles north of the town.[6]

Alma Massacre
Main article: Alma Massacre

The "Alma Massacre" involved a 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.[7] There are several other cemeteries in Alma's proximity, as well, including the WS Ranch Cemetery[8] and Cooney's Tomb.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11][12] In 2000 a local newspaper reported a number of wolf sightings and wolf attacks on cattle.[13] 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."[11] The wolf reintroduction program remains a "hot issue", and there are environmentalists, ranchers, law enforcement, and a variety of others involved.[12]

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Alma, New Mexico
  2. French, Capt William: Memoirs of a Western Ranchman
  3. Gibson, E. (nd) Kid Curry, the Wildest of the Bunch Archived 2003-12-19 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 11 June 2007.
  4. (nd) "Alma" Ghost Towns, Atjeu Publishing; retrieved 31 May 2011
  5. Siringo, Charles (1912). A Cowboy Detective. Arcadia Press. pp. 138, 143. ISBN 9781545001882.
  6. Boot Hill Cemetery at Find a Grave
  7. "Alma" Archived 2010-11-28 at the Wayback Machine. New Mexico Tourism Department. Retrieved 11/16/10.
  8. "WS Ranch Cemetery" Archived 2010-11-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11/17/10.
  9. "Cooney's Tomb" Archived 2010-11-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11/17/10.
  10. "Welcome to the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program", US Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 11/15/10.
  11. Valdez, L. (May 22, 2008) "Wolf country: Ranchers fighting comeback of a predator that's good for the land", The Arizona Republic.
  12. Holmes, S.M., June 27, 2007. "Wolf program remains hot issue", Mail Tribune.
  13. "Return of the wolf", Mountain Times. February 2000. Retrieved 11/15/10.

Bibliography
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