Pinos Altos, New Mexico
Pinos Altos, in Grant County, New Mexico, was a mining town, 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. Although once abandoned, the town is now a place for summer homes and caters to tourists.
Originally named Birchville, after prospector Robert H. Birch, 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.[1].
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 between the Arizona Guards of Pinos Altos, a Confederate Arizona Territorial militia company, and Apache warriors led by Mangas Coloradas and Cochise. 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.[2]
The town's Zipcode is 88053.[3] 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.
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