Santa Rita Copper Mines

The Apache opposition the panel names had a cause. Chihuahua paid bounties for Apache scalps, $100 for a man, $50 for a woman, $25 for a child. In April 1837 John Johnson, a Kentucky-born trader whose expedition the Santa Rita owners appear to have encouraged, came to the camp of Juan José Compá in the Animas Mountains, and on April 22 his men killed the headmen within minutes. The retaliation fell on Santa Rita: in 1838 its supply line was cut, and most of the 300 to 400 people who fled toward Janos were killed.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Santa Rita Copper Mines Copper has been mined here since 1804. For five years, development by Francisco Manuel Elguea re- sulted in some 6,000,000 pounds of copper being transported annu- ally to Mexico City by mule train. Brief periods of activity were halted by Apache opposition until the coming of the railroad in the 1880s, when the area became a major copper producer.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Santa Rita Copper Mine — 5.5 mi
  The copper pit east of Silver City that swallowed the town it was named for, beneath a spire of volcanic rock long said to look like a nun at prayer.
• City of Rocks State Park — 17 mi
  Pinnacles of volcanic tuff up to forty feet high standing in the grassland between Deming and Silver City, worn out of an eruption 34.9 million years ago.

More markers nearby

• Fort Bayard - 1866-1900 / Fort Bayard National Cemetery — steps away
• Bayard — 1.4 mi
• Ladies Auxiliary of Local 890 — 2.2 mi
• Kneeling Nun — 2.3 mi