Steins, New Mexico
Encyclopedia
Steins is a ghost town
in Doubtful Canyon of Hidalgo County, New Mexico
. It was originally called Stein's Pass after the nearby pass through the Peloncillo Mountains (Hidalgo County)
. The pass was named after United States Army
Major
Enoch Steen
, who camped nearby in 1856, as he explored the recently acquired Gadsden Purchase
.
station existed in the Doubtful Canyon prior to the town's founding. In the 1860s, the soldiers of California Column
fought a battle in the canyon close to the future townsite near Stein's Peak. The town was established in 1880 as a settlement along the Southern Pacific Railroad
. Steins had no natural source of water
, so all water had to be brought in by train. In 1905 a rock-crushing plant was built to produce track ballast
for the railroad. By the 1910 census Steins had its peak population of some 1,300 people.
In 1944, toward the end of World War II
, the railway ceased operations at the Steins quarry and gave notice it would no longer subsidize water deliveries. The railway offered the inhabitants of Steins free transport elsewhere with what they could carry; most of the population accepted this offer, leaving their houses and many of their possessions behind. The Post Office in town closed at that time. Over time Steins was completely abandoned.
Part of old Steins burned down, but a large section remained, and was visited by tourists. It is unusual in the old West ghost towns in having been a railroad rather than a mining 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...
in Doubtful Canyon of Hidalgo County, New Mexico
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...
. It was originally called Stein's Pass after the nearby pass through the Peloncillo Mountains (Hidalgo County)
Peloncillo Mountains (Hidalgo County)
The Peloncillo Mountains of Hidalgo County, , is a major 35-mi long mountain range of southwest New Mexico's Hidalgo County, and also part of the New Mexico Bootheel region. The range continues to the northwest into Arizona as the Peloncillo Mountains of Cochise County, Arizona...
. The pass was named after United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Enoch Steen
Enoch Steen
Enoch Steen was an United States military officer and western explorer. He joined the United States Army in 1832, serving at posts throughout the United States including many remote locations in the west. During his military service, Steen explored parts of the western United States including...
, who camped nearby in 1856, as he explored the recently acquired Gadsden Purchase
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States in a treaty signed by James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico at the time, on December 30, 1853. It was then ratified, with changes, by the U.S...
.
History
A small Butterfield Overland MailButterfield Overland Mail
The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...
station existed in the Doubtful Canyon prior to the town's founding. In the 1860s, the soldiers of California Column
California Column
The California Column, a force of Union volunteers, marched from April to August 1862 over 900 miles from California, across the southern New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and then into western Texas during the American Civil War. At the time, this was the longest trek through desert terrain...
fought a battle in the canyon close to the future townsite near Stein's Peak. The town was established in 1880 as a settlement along the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
. Steins had no natural source of water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, so all water had to be brought in by train. In 1905 a rock-crushing plant was built to produce track ballast
Track ballast
Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railway sleepers or railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to facilitate drainage of water, to distribute the load from the railroad ties, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track...
for the railroad. By the 1910 census Steins had its peak population of some 1,300 people.
In 1944, toward the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the railway ceased operations at the Steins quarry and gave notice it would no longer subsidize water deliveries. The railway offered the inhabitants of Steins free transport elsewhere with what they could carry; most of the population accepted this offer, leaving their houses and many of their possessions behind. The Post Office in town closed at that time. Over time Steins was completely abandoned.
Part of old Steins burned down, but a large section remained, and was visited by tourists. It is unusual in the old West ghost towns in having been a railroad rather than a mining town.