RedRiverNewMex.com
Title
Red River Chamber of Commerce
Description
A History of Treasure
Throughout the long history of the Red River valley, people have come searching for treasure. Early visitors were mostly trappers and hunters attracted by the riches of abundant wildlife.
Hopeful miners were drawn to the area in the 1870s and '80s by the gold strikes in Elizabethtown, but ore quality proved too low and the development costs too high to make the ventures profitable. A few prospectors, like the Mallette brothers, persisted and established homesteads. They had some good finds and prospectors began pouring in and filing claims. By 1895 Red River City was a booming gold camp and soon had a population of 3,000 people, complete with 15 saloons, four hotels, two newspapers, a barbershop, a hospital, a school, a sawmill and an active red light district.
The mines shut down after a few years and homesteaders soon outnumbered the miners. But the town lived on, and in the 1930s the few remaining residents realized that the new motherlode for them was tourism. Oklahoman Stokes Bolton carried the vision further when he determined Red River needed a ski area and opened one in 1959. Today, Red River has six buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History buffs can take a journey back through the 100-year mining history on the eight-mile Placer Creek Trail or the three-mile Pioneer Canyon Trail.
Contact
Administrative:
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- Gardner Kansas
- United States 66030
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- 913-555-1234
Registrant:
- Red River Chamber of Commerce
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- Red River New Mexico
- United States 87558
