Early African American Settlements in New Mexico
Blackdom, Chaves County, New Mexico
This small town settlement was officially established on December 5, 1911. It
covered about forty acres with 166 lots for houses. This was an incorporated
town site that lay within a broader area called Blackdom community. This
community was composed of farms, and homesteads by African American families
covering several square miles. The town was settled by Frank and Ella Boyer and
Daniel Keyes, who wanted to establish a self-sufficient settlement for
African-American settlers.
Blackdom was officially incorporated on December 5, 1911. A post office existed in Blackdom from 1913 to 1920, but declining water resources and drought forced the settlers to abandon the town, with many families moving to Vado, New Mexico. Only remnants remain of the town of Blackdom. Submitted by Charles Barnum
Camp Furlong, Columbus, Luna County, New Mexico
Camp Furlong and Columbus became the supply base of this operation and bore
witness to the birth of the motorization of the U.S. Army as the American
horse soldiers were replaced by trucks and airplanes. Located in the
northern portion of the Pancho Villa State Park in Luna County, New Mexico,
not far from the intersection of New Mexico State Highways 11 and 9, Camp
Furlong Recreational Hall is a single framed rectangular weatherboard
building with a tin gabled roof. Over the years, the Recreation Hall has
seen several different uses, but has maintained its historical integrity and
continues to be an essential part of the Columbus' community. Pictures from
the time of the Punitive Expedition show this structure. During the 1930s
the building served as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) barracks. The
U.S. Immigration Office later used the building until 1956. At the time of
the original 1975 survey for the National Register of Historical Places, the
building stood abandoned and rapidly deteriorating. Through a series of
renovations in the 1980s, the Camp Furlong Recreation Hall is currently in
good condition and functioning as a meeting hall for the town.
The 1920 Federal census lists 3,225 African America soldiers in or near Camp
Furlong. This represents a huge number since that same area today has less
than 500 residents.
Sources:
1920 Federal Census
Public
History Home Page, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Camp Furlong and
Columbus, New Mexico, 1916
Submitted by Charles Barnum
Fort Wingate, Bernalillo County.
The 1900 Federal census enumerated Fort Wingate Military installation. The
Ninth Regiment, Cavalry listed a large number of African American soldiers.
This is a valuable genealogical record for it showed the soldier's name,
place of birth, his prior residence, his rank, month and year of birth, his
ability to read and write, and his parent's birth places. On other pages
were lists of wives. His family was not listed on the military enumeration,
but with some detective work his family or relatives might be found on the
civilian pages. Fort Wingate was an important military facility in New
Mexican history. Submitted by Charles Barnum
6/1/1923 Corona Maverick newspaper Lincoln Co NM
African Americans - (6/1/1923) "Three wagon loads of Negroes passed through
Corona Friday en route from Oklahoma to El Paso, Texas. Negroes being about
as scarce as the proverbial hens teeth in this section of New Mexico the
little cavalcade attracted quite a bit of attention.
04/30/63 Silver City Dailey Press Grant County
JACKSON: D. L. (Dave). Jackson the unofficial caretaker of the ghost town of
White Oaks (Lincoln County) has suffered a stroke and is in poor condition
at the Carrizozo hospital. A hospital spokesman said the 91-year-old Negro
was admitted to the hospital April 19 and doesn't recognize anyone. Jackson
once was part owner of one of the richest mines, which caused the growth of
White Oaks. Since the mines played out, he remained at the town, looking
after cemetery and acting as the unofficial historian.
Submitted by Janet Wasson
07/18/46 Carithers Anderson ENT Enterprise newspaper Grant County
Anderson Carrithers, colored, veteran of World War I, died in Fort Bayard
Veterans hospital Saturday, of a gunshot wound, allegedly self inflicted.
Carrithers had been despondent due to Ill-health and is believed to have
shot himself at his home in Central, where he lived with his wife. Submitted
by C. W. Barnum
06/20/46 Duvall Gertrude Wright ENT Enterprise newspaper Grant County
Mrs. Gertrude Wright Duvall, a colored resident, well known in Silver City
where she had lived for 31 years, died after a brief illness, Sunday, in
Silver City General hospital. She was born in Virginia and had been employed
here for many year as a cook and housekeeper. Awaiting the arrival of
relatives, funeral arrangements are pending at the Cox mortuary. Submitted
by C. W. Barnum
Vado, Spanish for "ford," has an unusually diverse past.
It was first platted in Doņa Ana County in 1928, though it existed as a
community decades before that. Mexicans lived in the area before the Gadsden
Purchase in 1854, according to a history written by Isaiah Montoya, a
chronicler of the town. Following the Civil War, black settlers moved to the
site. A family named Herron began a broom factory, and in 1886, the town
came to be known as Herron. Quakers migrated to the area in 1888 from Ohio
and Illinois, and the community's name changed until 1912 to Earlham. After
that, the town was renamed again, this time to Center Valley. A black
couple, Frances and Ella Boyer, from near Roswell moved to Vado in 1920,
helping to establish it as a predominantly African American settlement.
Submitted by Marcena Thompson
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