New Mexico is a state rich in history, culture, and natural beauty. But it also has a darker side, one that is hidden from most tourists and even some locals. Among the vast landscapes of the Land of Enchantment, there are dozens of ghost towns that once thrived but now lie forgotten and decaying. One of these is Dawson, a former coal mining town that was once the largest in the state, but is now a haunting reminder of the past.
The Rise and Fall of Dawson
Dawson was founded in 1901 by the Dawson Fuel Company, a subsidiary of the Phelps Dodge Corporation, which owned the coal mines in the area. The town was named after John Barkley Dawson, a rancher who sold his land to the company for $50,000. Dawson soon became a booming town, attracting thousands of workers and their families from all over the country and the world. The town had everything a modern community needed: a school, a hospital, a post office, a library, a theater, a hotel, a golf course, and even its own baseball team. Dawson was also known for its ethnic diversity, as immigrants from Italy, Greece, China, Mexico, and other countries lived and worked together in harmony.
Dawson’s prosperity, however, came at a high price. The coal mines were dangerous and deadly, claiming the lives of hundreds of miners in accidents, explosions, and fires. The worst disaster occurred on October 22, 1913, when a dynamite blast ignited a coal dust explosion that killed 263 miners, most of whom were immigrants. It was the second worst mining accident in U.S. history, after the Monongah disaster in West Virginia in 1907. Another tragedy struck on February 8, 1923, when another explosion killed 123 miners, many of whom were relatives or friends of the victims of the 1913 disaster.
Despite these calamities, Dawson continued to produce coal until the Great Depression, when the demand for coal declined and the mines became unprofitable. The Phelps Dodge Corporation decided to close the mines and sell the town in 1950. The residents were given the option to buy their homes and relocate them elsewhere, or to leave them behind. Most chose the latter, as they had no attachment to the town or the land. Within a few years, Dawson was abandoned and left to the elements.
The Legacy of Dawson
Today, Dawson is a ghost town, but not a typical one. Unlike many other abandoned places in New Mexico, Dawson has not been vandalized, looted, or reclaimed by nature. Instead, it has been preserved by the current owners, the El Paso Natural Gas Company, which bought the land in 1954 and uses it as a cattle ranch. The company allows visitors to explore the town, but only with permission and under supervision. The town is also protected by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division, which designated it as a State Cultural Property in 1983.
Dawson is a fascinating and eerie place to visit, as it offers a glimpse into the past and the lives of the people who once called it home. The town still has many intact buildings, such as the school, the hospital, the post office, and the theater, as well as the cemetery, where the graves of the miners and their families are marked by white crosses. Some of the buildings have been restored and contain artifacts and memorabilia from the town’s heyday. Others are dilapidated and empty, but still retain their original charm and character.
Dawson is a hidden gem in New Mexico, a place that most people don’t know about, but should. It is a place that tells a story of hope and despair, of success and failure, of life and death. It is a place that honors the memory of the miners who worked hard and sacrificed their lives for the town and the coal. It is a place that deserves to be seen and remembered.