New Mexico African American Project
Early African American Settlements in New Mexico
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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. 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:
1--1920 Federal Census
2--Public History Home Page, New Mexico State
University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
http://web.nmsu.edu/~publhist/colbuild.htm
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
Offsite photos of Blackdom:
Homestead
http://www.huntel.com/~artpike/blackdo1.htm
Church:
http://www.huntel.com/~artpike/blackdo7.htm
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 1City 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 Doña 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
updated 10/10/2006