Shakespeare, New Mexico
Encyclopedia
Shakespeare, formerly known variously as Mexican Springs, Grant, and Ralston City, is a ghost town
in Hidalgo County
, New Mexico
, United States
. It is currently part of a privately-owned ranch, sometimes open to tourists. The entire community was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1973.
route, it was renamed Grant after the Civil War, after General U. S. Grant. When silver was discovered nearby it became a mining
town called Ralston City, named after financier William Chapman Ralston
. It was finally renamed Shakespeare, and was abandoned when the mines closed in 1929.
On November 9, 1881, Old West outlaw
s "Russian Bill" Tattenbaum and Sandy King
, both cattle rustlers and former members of the Clanton faction of Charleston, Arizona
, were lynched
in Shakespeare, and their bodies were left hanging for several days as a reminder to others that lawlessness would not be tolerated. The two had been captured by gunman "Dangerous Dan" Tucker
, who at the time was the Shakespeare Town Marshal.
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...
in Hidalgo County
Hidalgo County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.3% White*0.6% Black*0.8% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.8% Two or more races*11.0% Other races*56.6% Hispanic or Latino...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is currently part of a privately-owned ranch, sometimes open to tourists. The entire community was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1973.
History
Founded as a rest stop called Mexican Springs along a stagecoachStagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
route, it was renamed Grant after the Civil War, after General U. S. Grant. When silver was discovered nearby it became a mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
town called Ralston City, named after financier William Chapman Ralston
William Chapman Ralston
William "Billy" Chapman Ralston was a San Francisco, California businessman and financier, and was the founder of the Bank of California.-Biography:...
. It was finally renamed Shakespeare, and was abandoned when the mines closed in 1929.
On November 9, 1881, Old West outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
s "Russian Bill" Tattenbaum and Sandy King
Sandy King
Sandy King, was an outlaw of the Old West, and a member of the loosely knit outlaw Cowboys in Cochise County, Arizona Territory during the period when theu clashed with Deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp in Tombstone, Arizona and resulting Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.-Outlaw life:King is believed to...
, both cattle rustlers and former members of the Clanton faction of Charleston, Arizona
Charleston, Arizona
Charleston is a ghost town in Cochise County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. It was occupied from the late-1870s through the late-1880s, and was located in what was then known as the Arizona Territory...
, were lynched
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
in Shakespeare, and their bodies were left hanging for several days as a reminder to others that lawlessness would not be tolerated. The two had been captured by gunman "Dangerous Dan" Tucker
Dan Tucker (lawman)
Dan Tucker, better known as "Dangerous Dan" Tucker, , is a little known lawman and gunfighter of the Old West. Author Bob Alexander, who wrote the biography Dangerous Dan" Tucker, New Mexico's Deadly Lawman, proclaimed Tucker was more dangerous and more effective than better known lawmen, including...
, who at the time was the Shakespeare Town Marshal.