Historical Marker
Hachita
Hachita, Grant County · New Mexico
The split the panel describes came in 1902, when the El Paso and Southwestern laid its tracks nine miles east and a post office opened at the new site the same year; saloons, stores and a hotel followed. New Hachita became a junction where the El Paso and Southwestern met the Lordsburg and Hachita Railroad, and it was the new town that served the Punitive Expedition. The last train passed through in 1961. At Old Hachita the remains of an ore crusher still stand at the American Mine.
What the plaque says
Official Scenic Historic Marker Hachita Located in the Little Hatchet Mountains, Hachita was founded around 1875 as a mining camp. The mountains supplied the camp not only with silver and copper, but also its name, "little hatchet". By 1884 Hachita grew to 300 residents. Soon after 1900, when railroad tracks were laid nine miles east of Hachita, another settlement sprang up, drawing away residents and dividing the community into Old Hachita and New Hachita. Hachita also served as the base for forces when the "punitive expedition" was organized in retaliation of Pancho Villa's raid upon Columbus in 1916.
Where it stands
31.91888, -108.32405 · Directions