MADRID, New Mexico
By
Located east of I-25,
and linking
About 20 air miles southwest of Santa Fe, and nestled quaintly
between two long ridges is the old coal-mining town of Madrid (pronounced MAD-rid,
NOT Ma-DRID).
So many ghost town books show the rows of abandoned homes and the
old steam engine, and rave about all the abandoned buildings and ghostly air.
They comment on how this classic ghost town is one of the best in the West.
Well folks, that just ain't so ... anymore.
The rows of houses are still there, but many have been
rehabilitated, while others are still boarded up. At the time of our visit in 1987, the
downtown area was bustling, and over the top of a fence the historic old
locomotive could barely be seen. To see it up close, you had to go through the
museum. Many of the old stores have been refurbished by potters, painters and
other artistic types, while sales of handcrafted items, Indian goods, antiques
and other touristy stuff were brisk. If you remember the hippies and their
craft shops of the mid to late 1960s, you know what
By the late 1950s,
In the early 1970s, refugees from the modern-era rat race
discovered this picturesque ghost town, and growth began. The owner of
It has taken many years of toil to polish up the grimy coal-bin
town, but today it shines, albeit a bit dusty. The tourists come, spend their
money and leave, taking with them memories, and maybe a small trinket made in
This was our GHOST TOWN OF THE MONTH for
October 2003.
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POSTED: October
01, 2003
LAST
UPDATED: March 20, 2005
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