From Virden, it is 27 miles southeast to Lordsburg, the county seat of Hidalgo County and, by far, the biggest town in the county. Currently, Hidalgo County has 4,844 people, according to the Census Bureau, which represents a significant drop from the 2000 Census count of 5,932. From information I have gathered, however, I believe the county's population is lower than that, about 4,000. Judging from what I have seen (or not seen), this figure makes more sense because, outside of Lordsburg, there are not that many people in the county. The county is, for the most part, unpopulated. In the 1950 Census, for example, Hidalgo County had 5,095 people with 3,525 of those people living in Lordsburg. Lordsburg had about 75% of the county's population and that has been the trend in the decades hence. But according to most recent figures, Lordsburg only has about half of the county's population, which makes it look like the rest of the county has gained population or possibly shrunk at an insignificant rate compared to Lordsburg and that is not the case.
Hidalgo County had 6,049 people in the 1980 Census, but unofficially reached its peak in 1966 with 6,547 people. That is also the year that Lordsburg reached its peak population of 4,712. Since 1966 was not a Census year, that figure is not official, but accurate nevertheless.
Since the 2000 Census, the population of Hidalgo County and Lordsburg has spiraled downward. In 2000, Lordsburg had 3,379 people and the population had fluctuated at roughly 3,000 for several decades. In the last 10 years, however, the population has dropped to 2,582, but seems to be leveling off.
In the past decade, a company owned mining town in Hidalgo County, Playas, has been shut down and was purchased by New Mexico Tech University (located in Socorro) for $5 million. The majority of the Playas townsite is used by the university for a variety of purposes, most notably research and by the Department of Homeland Security as a counterterrorism training center. So the Playas Training Center has a highly variable, transient population that usually is less than 50, but can grow to several hundred depending on what type of training or research activities are taking place. It is a highly restricted area, much like a military base.
Also, in the past decade, a tiny town called Road Forks, located 17 miles west of Lordsburg on Interstate 10, has become a ghost town. Road Forks never had more than 38 people, but it served as a significant travel stop for decades before "giving up the ghost" in the past few years. I will talk more about Road Forks later.
As I stated above, the population loss that has taken place in the past few decades in Hidalgo County has accelerated in the past 10 years and it is evident everywhere in the county, not just in Lordsburg. Like I just stated, two of the county's towns have been completely abandoned just in the past decade while Lordsburg has experienced a steep drop in population, so I believe the county's population is approximately 4,000 or slightly less.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Venturing Into The Hinterlands
I guess I will start my writing about Hidalgo County, New Mexico in the northern part of the county. This is the only part of this desolate county that has any farming, courtesy of the Gila River. This river is 636 miles long and rises in three different forks in western New Mexico.; East, West and Middle Forks. The East Fork begins its journey in Sierra County on the northern slope of Taylor Peak (elevation 8,288) in the Black Range, a few miles west of the Continental Divide. The West Fork begins in the Mogollon Mountains in the heart of the Gila Wilderness in southern Catron County. This was the first federally designated wilderness area in the world. The Middle Fork of the Gila River is considered to be the main channel and it is also the longest of the three forks.It rises on the west slope of the Continental Divide in the Mangas Mountains of central Catron County, five miles east of the tiny village of Aragon. The three forks converge near the Gila Cliff Dwellings near the boundary between Catron and Grant Counties and continue as a unified stream all the way across the width of Arizona before flowing into the Colorado River a few miles north of Yuma, Arizona, which is on the California border.
The Gila River only goes through the northernmost reaches of Hidalgo County and waters a valley full of farms, an anomaly for Hidalgo County. The river flows past the town of Virden, population 141. At its peak in the 1930s, Virden had 375 people. It, along with the nearby towns of Duncan and Franklin, in Arizona, are the only towns in this long, narrow valley bisected by the Gila River. Virden is a veritable oasis in the desert. There are literally hundreds of trees in this tiny town. There is an elementary school in Virden, but the high school closed about half a century ago. The only operating business the last time I went through Virden, three years ago, was the post office.
Virden is only 2 1/2 miles from the Arizona border, six miles from Duncan, Arizona and nine miles from Franklin, Arizona. Virden is connected to the rest of the world by State Highway 92, a lightly-traveled, sinuous route that follows the north side of the Gila River. This highway becomes a county-maintained road at the Arizona border, but it is the direct connection between Virden and Duncan. The principal highway through this area is U.S. Highway 70, about five miles south of Virden. In the 36 miles between Duncan, Arizona and Lordsburg, New Mexico, Highway 70 is wide, fast and almost completely straight. It has very few curves in this area and runs in a northwest to southeast direction and it runs through the desert overlooking the valley of the Gila River.
The residents of Virden and the surrounding area do most of their shopping in Safford and Thatcher, Arizona; twin towns an hour's drive to the west.
The Gila River only goes through the northernmost reaches of Hidalgo County and waters a valley full of farms, an anomaly for Hidalgo County. The river flows past the town of Virden, population 141. At its peak in the 1930s, Virden had 375 people. It, along with the nearby towns of Duncan and Franklin, in Arizona, are the only towns in this long, narrow valley bisected by the Gila River. Virden is a veritable oasis in the desert. There are literally hundreds of trees in this tiny town. There is an elementary school in Virden, but the high school closed about half a century ago. The only operating business the last time I went through Virden, three years ago, was the post office.
Virden is only 2 1/2 miles from the Arizona border, six miles from Duncan, Arizona and nine miles from Franklin, Arizona. Virden is connected to the rest of the world by State Highway 92, a lightly-traveled, sinuous route that follows the north side of the Gila River. This highway becomes a county-maintained road at the Arizona border, but it is the direct connection between Virden and Duncan. The principal highway through this area is U.S. Highway 70, about five miles south of Virden. In the 36 miles between Duncan, Arizona and Lordsburg, New Mexico, Highway 70 is wide, fast and almost completely straight. It has very few curves in this area and runs in a northwest to southeast direction and it runs through the desert overlooking the valley of the Gila River.
The residents of Virden and the surrounding area do most of their shopping in Safford and Thatcher, Arizona; twin towns an hour's drive to the west.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Into The Hinterlands
I am now going to "travel" from the extreme northwest corner of my favorite state, New Mexico, to the county that occupies the state's southwest corner--Hidalgo County. I will be writing about Hidalgo County for awhile, while at the same time, on my other travel blog called "In My Travels, " I will be writing about the county at the extreme opposite end of New Mexico--Union County, in the northeast corner.
Hidalgo County is a large county, covering 3,446 square miles. It stretches 98 miles at its longest point( north to south) and 50 miles at its widest point (east to west). The county occupies the southernwesternmost reach of New Mexico and borders Mexico on the south and southeast, Arizona on the west, Grant County on the north and east and a small portion of Luna County in the southeast, just above Mexico.
The vast majority of Hidalgo County is unpopulated and extremely isolated. This remote area has seen very little change over the centuries and still strongly evokes the 'frontier' feel to travelers that happen to venture through this area. It is a very harsh land that requires preparation for even a casual journey through the area. The southern part of the county is even more isolated than the central and northern parts. There are large areas where there is very little traffic on the highways and no cell phone or radio reception, so a broken down vehicle would very likely spell disaster.
The majority of Hidalgo County is desert--part of the Chihuahuan Desert that occupies most of western Texas, southern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. However, there are also lush grasslands and forests in the county, depending on elevation. there is even a small portion of Coronado National Forest, which lies mostly in Arizona, that extends into Hidalgo County. It is a 'sky island' that lies in the southern part of the Peloncillo Mountains.
Hidalgo County is a large county, covering 3,446 square miles. It stretches 98 miles at its longest point( north to south) and 50 miles at its widest point (east to west). The county occupies the southernwesternmost reach of New Mexico and borders Mexico on the south and southeast, Arizona on the west, Grant County on the north and east and a small portion of Luna County in the southeast, just above Mexico.
The vast majority of Hidalgo County is unpopulated and extremely isolated. This remote area has seen very little change over the centuries and still strongly evokes the 'frontier' feel to travelers that happen to venture through this area. It is a very harsh land that requires preparation for even a casual journey through the area. The southern part of the county is even more isolated than the central and northern parts. There are large areas where there is very little traffic on the highways and no cell phone or radio reception, so a broken down vehicle would very likely spell disaster.
The majority of Hidalgo County is desert--part of the Chihuahuan Desert that occupies most of western Texas, southern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. However, there are also lush grasslands and forests in the county, depending on elevation. there is even a small portion of Coronado National Forest, which lies mostly in Arizona, that extends into Hidalgo County. It is a 'sky island' that lies in the southern part of the Peloncillo Mountains.
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