Pinos Altos, New Mexico
Encyclopedia
Pinos Altos, in Grant County
Grant County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*84.9% White*0.9% Black*1.4% Native American*0.4% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*9.8% Other races*48.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, was a mining town
Mining town
A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry for the extraction or smeltering of ore.-United States:...

, 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
Silver City, New Mexico
Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 10,545. It is the county seat of Grant County. The city is the home of Western New Mexico University.-History:...

. Although once abandoned, the town is now a place for summer homes and caters to tourists.

Originally named Birchville, after prospector Robert H. Birch
Robert H. Birch
Robert H. "Three-Fingered" Birch was a 19th-century American adventurer, soldier and prospector. He was a member of the infamous "Banditti of the Prairie" in his youth, whose involvement in the torture-murder of George Davenport in 1845 led to his turning state's evidence against his co-conspirators...

, one of three finding 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 have a population of about 9,000 during the 1880's and 1890's before slowly being abandoned during the early 1900's. Today, many of the original buildings remain..

From the discovery of gold in 1860 until late 1861, miners were harassed by Apache Indian opposed to white settlers invading their lands. On September 27, 1861, it was the site of the Battle of Pinos Altos
Battle of Pinos Altos
The Battle of Pinos Altos was a military action of the Apache Wars. It was fought on September 27, 1861 between settlers of Pinos Altos mining town, the Confederate Arizona Guards, and Apache warriors. The town is located about seven miles north of the present day Silver City, New...

 between the Arizona Guards of Pinos Altos, a Confederate Arizona Territorial militia company, and Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

 warriors led by Mangas Coloradas
Mangas Coloradas
Mangas Coloradas, or Dasoda-hae , was an Apache tribal chief and a member of the Eastern Chiricahua nation, whose homeland stretched west from the Rio Grande to include most of what is present-day southwestern New Mexico...

 and Cochise
Cochise
Cochise was a chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache and the leader of an uprising that began in 1861. Cochise County, Arizona is named after him.-Biography:...

. This battle did not end the conflict between white settlers and Indians, 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 forts to protect the settlement in 1869.

The town's Zipcode is 88053. 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.

External links

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