Back on the mine-scarred slopes of the Magdalena Mountains
lies Kelly, one of the most striking ghost towns of New Mexico.
Looking at the streets long empty of houses, you feel deep
loneliness creeping over you. Forest trees have reclaimed yards
where lawns and flowerbeds grew. House foundations have be-
come hummocks grown with cholla and chamisa. A few time-
defying fruit trees are the only living reminders of people no
longer here. Where the eroding main street ends a tall mine
tipple still resists rust and decay. Mine tailings hump out on the
mountainsides everywhere.
It's hard to believe that 2,700 people once lived here. Kelly
had two churches, seven saloons, two dance halls and two
hotels, when silver, lead and zinc mines were million-dollar
ventures. But the demand for ore fell off until the fabulous mines
all closed. Miners moved away. Kelly had years of empty houses.
Then people began salvaging house materials from defenseless
buildings. Kelly became a vandalized ghost town. Today the only
building still in repair is the infrequently used little Catholic church.
Kelly is the only place in the New World where the semi-
precious stone smithsonite is found. The beauty of its greenish
opalescent luster made it a coveted stone. But smithsonite, too,
played out.
Kelly was in full blast when Magdalena was just a raw cowtown
called Pueblo Springs. Cowboys delighted in riding the three
miles to Kelly to shoot up dances. There always was keen rivalry
be- tween the two towns.
The railroad reached both places while Apache Indians still
threatened. Sometimes Kelly kept a string of railroad cars on the
siding, to rush women and children away to safety if the Indians
attacked. However, the Apaches never attacked, they just slipped
in and stole horses.
To explore Kelly, take paved road 114 southeast out of
Magdalena. Three miles puts you into the pretty ghost town of
Kelly. On the way you pass a railroad siding where lead and zinc
ore is being loaded, in a revival of the Lynchburg mine.