Seven Rivers, New Mexico was formerly a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

, located south of Artesia, New Mexico

Artesia, New Mexico

Artesia is a city in Eddy County, New Mexico, United States, centered at the intersection of U.S. Route 82 and 285; the two highways serve as the city's Main Street and First Street, respectively...

. The town itself was first settled in the mid-1860's, and for a time thrived as a trading post

Trading post

A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....

. Its name derives from seven creeks that flowed through it, into the Pecos River

Pecos River

The headwaters of the Pecos River are located north of Pecos, New Mexico, United States, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County. The river flows for through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it...

. The Seven Rivers Warriors

Seven Rivers Warriors

The Seven Rivers Warriors were an outlaw gang of the Old West known primarily due to their part in the Lincoln County War.-Formation:The gang was initially formed during the mid-1870s by disgruntled small ranchers, feeling themselves victimized by the large cattle holdings of ranchers such as John...

, a gang that operated on the Murphy-Dolan side of the Lincoln County War

Lincoln County War

The Lincoln County War was a 19th-century range war between two factions during the Old West period. Numerous notable figures of the American West were involved, including Billy the Kid, aka William Henry McCarty; sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett; cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and...

, used the town as its refuge. Both the Jessie Evans Gang

Jessie Evans Gang

The Jesse Evans Gang, also known as The Boys, was a gang of rustlers and robbers led by outlaw and gunman Jesse Evans, which lasted from 1876 until 1880. The gang was formed after Evans broke with the John Kinney Gang...

 and the John Kinney Gang

John Kinney Gang

The John Kinney Gang, also known as the Rio Grande Posse, was an outlaw gang of the old West, which operated during the mid-1870s into the mid-1880s....

 also frequented the town during that time. The town eventually declined until only the cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

 remained. In 1988, when the Brantly Dam was constructed, the cemetery was moved to Artesia, and nothing remains today.