A Tourist Town, Of Sorts

  Today, the economic mainstays for Lordsburg are the county government, the railroad, ranching, some mining and traffic on Interstate 10, which nourished travelers with a handful of motels, restaurants and gas stations. In spite of this, the population has taken a nosedive over the past half century and does not show any signs of recovery.
  However, Lordsburg should definitely be seen by everyone. Why? Because it is the anti-Santa Fe. it is a New Mexico town that is the complete opposite of Santa Fe. Lordsburg is about as far away from Santa Fe culturally, geographically and in terms of appearance among New Mexico cities and towns as you can get. Lordsburg is not beautiful, it is not prosperous, it is not wealthy, it is not thriving, it is not a center of power, it is not a tourist destination, it does not have a rosy outlook for the future, it does not ooze ancient Spanish culture. In fact the only adobe building to be found in Lordsburg is the library, located next to the Hidalgo County Courthouse and was deliberately built in the 'Territorial style' to make a statement that this is New Mexico, a state that looks different from any other state. It is most likely fake adobe plaster, but it still has the "New Mexico look" to it, which is an anomaly in this dying ranching and railroad town.
  The Hidalgo County Courthouse on South Shakespeare Street is an attractive, 2-story, red brick building. It, the library and the post office are pretty much surrounded by abandoned buildings.
  Lordsburg has two claims to fame. First, it has the oldest airport in New Mexico. Lordsburg Municipal Airport began operations in December, 1938 and the state song of New Mexico was written by a Lordsburg resident.
" O Fair New Mexico" was written by Elizabeth Garrett, daughter of famed Lincoln County Sheriff  Pat Garrett. Pat Garrett is one of the more famous people from the "Wild West" days. " O Fair New Mexico" was adopted as the state song by the New Mexico state legislature in March of 1917. New Mexico does have another state song, a Spanish language one. It is called " Asi Es Nuevo Mexico."

A Lakeside Town

Lordsburg is known for its sandstorms. Yep, that is their 'claim to fame.' A few miles west of town are four dry lake beds--very large dry lake beds. They are called North Tobosa Lake, South Tobosa Lake, Antelope Lake and Playa de los Pinos. Interstate 10 bisects South Tobosa Lake, the largest one.  These dry lakes are oriented northwest to southeast. Playa de los Pinos straddles the Arizona border.  Frequently, the motels in Lordsburg fill up when dust storms rage for hours on end. At the same time, motels in Willcox, Arizona, 67 miles west of Lordsburg, also fill up when the sandstorms are out of control.
  A few years ago, The Weather Channel, on the series "Storm Stories," did a story about a multi-car pileup that resulted from one of these epic sandstorms. The epicenter of this particular sandstorm was in Arizona, between the moribund towns of Bowie and San Simon. These towns are between Willcox, Arizona and the dry lake beds. The effects of these sandstorms reach far and wide across the area.
  I experienced one of these epic storms myself one time when I was on vacation in the late 1990s. I had already been hearing radio reports about the raging sandstorm west of Lordsburg, but when I got my first glimpse of it after cresting the Continental Divide 24 miles northeast of Lordsburg, I was stunned! I have driven this highway several other times and I have always admired the view from the crest of the Continental Divide on State Highway 90 between Lordsburg and Silver City. Usually, this lookout affords a fantastic view of the Animas Mountains, south of Lordsburg; the Peloncillo Mountains, west of Lordsburg (near the Arizona border) and even the famous Chiricahua Mountains, which are about 40 miles away in southeast Arizona. I could not see any of these mountain ranges on that day. I could not even see the Pyramid Hills, which are only one mile south of Lordsburg! The interstate crosses South Tobosa Lake between exits 5 and 9 ( 5 miles and 9 miles from the Arizona border) and eastbound traffic was backed up from roughly milepost 6 (according to the radio reports) and San Simon, Arizona; 18 miles away! This lake is about 10 miles west of Lordsburg.
  I was forced to get a motel room in Lordsburg even though I arrived in town at 2:30 in the afternoon! Fortunately I was able to get a room, one of few left in town. I got a room on the beleagured stretch of Motel Drive (Old U.S. Highway 80) at a motel that is surrounded by abandoned buildings and across the street from a busy railroad. It was not the best of accommodations, but at least I was out of the dust. Traffic on the interstate was backed up all the way through Lordsburg! The sandstorm had started at approximately 10:00 that morning and raged out of control until about 1:30 the next morning. When I went out and drove around town or went to eat dinner or go to a convenience store, I had to put a shirt in front of my face to keep dust out of me mouth, nose and eyes. I got an idea of what it was like during the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. The next morning, when I went to eat breakfast before checking out of my room, I had a very thick coating of dust on my truck and I had to thoroughly clean the windows before I could drive away. There was even a fine coating of dust was all over the inside of my truck also!

A Beleaguered County Seat, part 2

 In the days before Interstate highways, Lordsburg was a humming place because it lay at the junction of two major highways, which enticed travelers to stop and spend their money because of the distance to the next sizable town. In its heyday, Lordsburg had  21 motels, 20 cafes or formal restaurants 31 gas stations. Nearly all of these business establishments were located along U.S. Highway 80, which parallels the railroad tracks on the south side. In town, Highway 80 was once known as First Street, but, in later years, the name was changed to Motel Drive, the name it goes by today. I think First Street is a much better name.  A few of these businesses were located along U.S. Highway 70, but Highway 80 was the place to be in Lordsburg. In addition to all of the motels, restaurants and gas stations, First Street, a.k.a. Motel Drive, was lined with gift shops, car garages, automobile dealerships and anything else you can think of. Today, Motel Drive has been called a "motel ghost town" by some people, a vision of a post-apocalyptic world by others.
  In September of 2009, my most recent trip to Lordsburg, I spent the night on the far west end of Lordsburg at a national chain motel near its junction with Interstate 10.While I was there, I drove up and down Motel Drive several times and counted 12 abandoned motels, 22 abandoned gas stations and 14 deserted restaurants or cafes. Other businesses of this type used to exist also, but have long since been demolished, as testified by the numerous concrete slabs or foundations that line the street. Motel Drive was recently listed as one of "America's Most Endangered Places." There are only three operating motels on the street today and I don't remember how many gas stations, but no more than 3 or 4. The only operating restaurants on the street today are at truck stops on the east side of town.
  Motel Drive is no longer the busiest street in Lordsburg. In fact, it is very under utilized in the present day. It is a very wide street with very little traffic. The busiest street in Lordsburg today is South Main Street, which is part of a short state highway (494) that dead ends at the entrance to a ghost town 3 miles south of Lordsburg. South Main Street's exit with Interstate 10 is the hub of Lordsburg today. This is where most of the motels and other travel related business are clustered today. In total, Lordsburg today has 11 motels, 7 gas stations and 14 cafes or restaurants. Most of the eating establishments are either fast food places or are affiliated with motels or truck stops.
  When it was announced that Interstate 10 would be built through the south side of Lordsburg, the state offered to elevate the freeway through town so travelers could look down and see the town and be more willing to stop there and patronize the businesses. This tactic did not work, however, because Lordsburg has fallen on very hard times since the freeway opened up.
  At the same time, the businesses that are clustered next to the freeway are the town's major economic engine and have, in a way, prevented the town from dying off even more than it has. In fact, when I was there late last summer, I saw a Hampton Inn & Suites under construction. Seeing that surprised me and it might be a good sign for the struggling town. 
 

A Beleaguered County Seat

The most recent population for Lordsburg is 2,582. The population peaked at 4,712. That is a significant drop-nearly 50%. However, at least from an economic standpoint, it looks like the population loss has been more than that. In some aspects, Interstate 10 killed Lordsburg. In other aspects, Interstate 10 in saving Lordsburg. Let me explain. Before Interstate 10 was built through the area, U.S. Highway 80 was the principal highway through the area. This highway, while not as famous as U.S. Highway 66, a.k.a. "The Main Street of America," was still famous in its own right. route 80 was frequently called "The Broadway of America" and once ran from Tybee Island, Georgia to San Diego, California. Unlike route 66, however, U.S. highway 80 is not completely dead or decertified. It still exists in its eastern portion. It still begins in Tybee Island, Georgia, but now it ends in Dallas, Texas. Everything west of Dallas has been decertified. In places it is still a federal highway, such as Interstate 10 Business Loop through a number of towns. In other places it is now a city street or a county road. In other places it is a state highway. An example of this is in the El Paso, Texas area where Route 80 is now State Highway 20 and west of Lordsburg, where the old highway splits off of Interstate 10 and runs southwest to Douglas, Arizona and then back northwest to Benson, Arizona. It is known as State Highway 80 in both states. In still other places, old highway 80 is completely and utterly abandoned, in varying states of disrepair. There are also some places where the former "Broadway of America" is completely buried underneath Interstate 10 or even Interstate 20 farther east.
  Lordsburg was situated at the junction on U.S. Highway and U.S. Highway 70. These 2 highways, along with the railroad  and the town's relative isolation made Lordsburg boom. In fact, the railroad gave birth to Lordsburg in 1881 when a second transcontinental route was being pushed westward across the southern United States. Lolrdsburg is even named for a railroad engineer, Delbert Lord. some sources say the town was named for a New Yorker named Charles Lord, but I believe that is very unlikely. The town and railroad have been intertwined since day one.