USA > New Mexico > History of New Mexico : its resources and people, Volume II > Part 12
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Valencia is in the first tier of western counties, and has as its northern neighbor the old county of Bernalillo and the new county of Mckinley, and, as its southern, Socorro, also one of the original nine counties, but now sadly reduced in territory. The county of Valencia has a population of 14,000 and an area of 9,400 square miles.
Resources of the County .- Even after the cutting off of the county of Torrance in 1904, Valencia remained one of the largest counties in New Mexico, being a little larger than New Hampshire and smaller than Ver- mont. The valley of the Rio Grande in its southeastern portion is its garden spot, producing good crops of wheat, barley, oats, corn, beans, chile peppers, alfalfa and fruits. The greatest spread of orchards is in the neigh- borhood of Los Lunas, the county seat, and Belen, the largest town and commercial center. In the valleys of the San Jose, peaches and grapes are the staple fruit crops, and there are single farms that yield tens of thou- sands of pounds of the Mission grape.
Among connoisseurs the wine and brandy of Valencia county have a high reputation. Only the finest fruit is used to distill brandy, and the wine is made of pure juice without artificial sweetening. To satisfy those who prefer a very sweet wine, the vintners take the residue of the grapes after the wine is made, press it and boil the juice down to a thick syrup. This is added to the wine as a sweetener. The Mission grape is almost as sugary as a raisin, and its wine really needs no added sugar.
In addition to the Rio Grande valley, the valleys of the San Jose and the Rio Puerco are very fertile, and in the different settlements all along them small grains and fruits are raised in abundance.
The highlands, valleys and hillsides are covered with rich grass, and the numerous springs and creeks make it possible to produce wool, mutton and beef at low cost. The wool industry has proven to be the most profit- able, and some of the wealthiest men in New Mexico have derived their revenues from the prosecution of this industry in Valencia county. The Rio Grande valley of the county has always been the home of many of the
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wealthiest and most influential families among the Spanish population, and from here nearly all the governors who were residents of New Mexico were appointed.
The mineral resources of Valencia county are extremely varied. A few miles west of the Rio Grande the coal measures begin, and extend almost in a continuous body to the western boundary, including an area nearly a hundred miles long by fifty wide. Coal crops out on all the higher mesas. Salt is found in large quantities in the Zuñi mountains, the lakes of brine in that region being well known. There are gold and copper mines in this district. Gypsum is found near El Rito, adjoining the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, and is considered very valuable as a fertilizer. In the western part of the county along the line of the same road are extensive deposits of sandstone and granite and other building stone.
Towns .- Los Lunas, the county seat, is beautifully situated in the Rio Grande valley, on the main line of the A., T. & S. F. At this point for miles the valley presents a continuous succession of prosperous looking farms and orchards, with an occasional postoffice and surrounding settle- ment. But the greatest commercial development is further south, with Belen as its center.
With the construction of that portion of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé Railway system, known as the Belen Cut-Off, in 1904-6, the section of the Territory immediately affected began to develop very rapidly. The town of Belen, at first little more than a railroad construction camp, de- veloped into a place of 1,200 people in 1906. The site is now owned by the Belen Town and Improvement Company, of which John Becker is presi- dent and William M. Becker, secretary. In 1905-6 a public schoolhouse was erected at a cost of $16,000; a commercial club was organized ; a roller flour mill was built, with a capacity of 150 barrels per day; a large winery was established, and a weekly newspaper-the Belen Tribune-began publication, under the management of William M. Berger. The Commer- cial Club was incorporated January 8, 1906, by Charles Reinken (president ) ; William M. Berger ( vice-president), H. Emory Davis (secretary ), and John Becker, Jr. (treasurer), and erected a two-story brick building costing $8,000. The railroad works at Belen include a large roundhouse, a forty- eight pocket coal chute, a handsome Harvey eating house, somewhat after the design of the Castenada at Las Vegas, a Harvey curio shop, a com- modious depot, offices, etc. The railroad vards are a mile and a half long, six hundred feet wide, and will contain upward of sixty miles of track. Large quantities of wood, hay, beans, flour, fruit and wine are shipped annually. The railroad has allowed the impression to go forth that all fast limited, mail and freight trains, will pass over this part of the line, making a great saving in distance and time between Chicago and the Pacific coast.
In the northwestern part of the county, in what is called the San Mateo country, near Mount Taylor, are San Mateo, San Rafael and Cubero, Mex- ican towns of importance, and in the far west, in the Zuñi district, is the Mormon town of Ramah.
Some Early Settlers .- Demas Provencher, or Provencer, a native of France, was one of the early inhabitants of Valencia (now a part of Mc- Kinley) county. He established a general merchandising business, and erected a mill at El Gallo, three miles southwest of Grant's station, adjoin-
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ing the present San Rafael, and upon the site of old Fort Wingate. He became widely known throughout that section of the Territory, and by reason of his generous disposition, his public spirit and inclination to be of practical use to the community at large, was highly respected. He married a sister of Father Brun, a French Catholic priest stationed at El Gallo. In 1892, while engaged in canvassing the votes cast in his precinct at an election. in company with another official, he was killed by a shot fired through the window near which he sat. As he had no known enemies, it was generally believed that the shot was intended for his companion, and that it was fired by Jose el Coyote, a Mexican desperado who had been the author of numerous criminal disturbances.
Ramon A. Baca, who lived at San Mateo in the days immediately fol- lowing the Civil war. was another widely known man. It is said that when he first located there he was so utterly destitute that he killed a prairie dog with his gun in order to provide food for his wife and children. He engaged in the stock business, raising cattle, horses and sheep, and amassed a fortune. For years he lived like a feudal lord, spending his money like Croesus, entertaining lavishly, and making his journey through the country with a coach and four horses. During the Apache wars he commanded a company of native militia, great pomp and dignity characterizing all his military movements, though the records do not mention any especially active service performed by him. Like many of his contemporaries, he suffered the loss of liis entire fortune during the panic of 1893-4, and died about two years later in comparative poverty.
Judge J. M. Latta, of Boston, Mass., who organized the Zuñi Mountain Cattle Company about 1883 and for some time thereafter was occupied in the industry with headquarters at Bluewater, was one of the widely known operators in that section. W. H. Hulvey, his nephew, now a banker of Chicago, was his ranch foreman and superintendent for several years. Judge Latta came into the Territory as a tie contractor with the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad.
Ridener & Baker. a wholesale grocery firm of Kansas City, with Jose Joseph E. Saint, entered the cattle business in 1883, organized a corpora- tion known as the Acoma Land & Cattle Company, with headquarters at Acoma station. Their operations were quite extensive for many years, but they suffered severe financial reverses about 1894.
Paul B. Dalies, vice-president of the John Becker Company at Belen, Valencia county, located at this place in 1889 and entered the employ of the John Becker Company, with which he has since been connected, his ability and fidelity winning him successive promotions until in 1902, upon the in- corporation of the company, he was elected to the office of vice-president. He is also a member of the board of regents of the Orphan Children's Home at Belen, under appointment from Governor Otero.
William M. Berger, attorney and counselor at law, and secretary and general manager of the Town and Improvement Company of Belen, New Mexico, is a native of New York city, and in early manhood enlisted for service in the Civil war as first sergeant in Company G, of the Eighth Regiment of New York Volunteers. He served in the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, and is a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public, and held important staff appointments under the commander-in- chief of that organization. Following his return from the war he studied
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law with the Hon. Solomon Noble, corporation attorney, and ex- Judge Stemmler of New York, and was admitted to the bar in the Em- pire state in 1868, after which he practiced continuously in New York city until 1880, being attorney for Steinway & Sons, piano forte manufac- turers, until 1880. That year witnessed his arrival in Santa Fé, New Mex- ico, where he opened a law office and also operated largely in real estate speculations. He conducted large real estate operations in Las Vegas, New Mexico, where his labors were a decided impetus in establishing and con- ducting the new town of Las Vegas. He also established the new town of Santa Fé, assisted in organizing the Board of Trade, the Board of Under- writers and the first fire department of the Territory. In Santa Fé he as- sisted in the organization of the Territorial Historical Society, and has been re-elected its secretary for the twenty-sixth time. He is the pioneer insurance agent of the Territory, and has sold real estate and has conducted real estate operations also in Silver City, Deming and Socorro. He is now building up the new town of Belen and is secretary and general manager of the Belen Town and Improvement Company, also secretary and general manager of the Willard Town and Improvement Company. He is like- wise general counsel for the John Becker Company, who have mercantile establishments in Belen and other towns of New Mexico. He left Santa Fé in 1903 and removed to Belen, where he opened an office and is now. conducting the extensive real estate operations above mentioned, having negotiated many important property transfers. For five years he was owner and editor of the weekly Capitol at Santa Fé, from 1897 until 1902, and now owner and proprietor of the Belen Tribune, located at Belen, a Republican paper of considerable influence in New Mexico. Thus his inter- ests have been closely associated with many movements which have had direct and important bearing upon the Territory, its substantial growth and improvement.
Mr. Berger is a charter member of the New Mexico Bar Association, and during the period of his residence in the Territory has continued in the practice of law as well as in real estate operations, and in many fields of activity into which he has directed his energies. He was United States receiver of public money of New Mexico at Santa Fé from 1889 until 1893, serving with high honor, but refused a reappointment under the Cleveland administration. He made the first call and was the first president of the Territorial Fire Association of New Mexico. He was the organizer and first president of the Territorial Press Association, of which he is now the secretary. He is vice-president of the Good Roads Association and founder of the Educational Association of New Mexico. Prominent in Masonry, he has filled all of the chairs in the lodge and Roval Arch Chapter, and is a member of Montezuma Lodge No. I, of Santa Fé. He is also a leading and active member of Santa Fé Lodge No. I. K. of P .: past grand chancellor of the Territory and supreme representative. Few citizens have taken a more active part in advancing the material, intellectual and political progress of the Territory than Mr. Berger. His mind seems to have compassed the entire measure of possibilities, looking beyond the exigencies of the present to the opportunities of the future, and while working toward the ideal, he has used the means at hand in practical methods that have produced valued and beneficial results.
He is a married man, having married Miss Mary E. Combes, of New
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York city. They have two daughters, Miss Ella May and Miss Edna E., both of whom have filled and are now filling positions of trust and honor in the Territory.
Simon Neustadt, a merchant and postmaster at Los Lunas, took up his abode in that city in 1879 and entered mercantile circles as a successor to his brother, Samuel Neustadt, who removed to Albuquerque, where with another brother, Louis Neustadt, he opened a general mercantile store in what was then the Armijo Hotel. This was continued for five years, when the firm sold out, Samuel remaining in New Mexico, while Louis went to New York.
Simon Neustadt continued merchandising for about seven years at Los Lunas, and then removed to El Paso, but in 1887 returned and again en- tered mercantile circles by purchasing the store of Louis and Henry Huning, continuing in that business for three years. He then bought out L. F. Levy, which store he has occupied continuously since, being one of the enterprising merchants of the town. In 1896 he was appointed postmaster.
George H. Pradt, a civil engineer living in Laguna, was born in Penn- sylvania, reared in Wisconsin, and came to New Mexico in 1869 to make a survey of the Navajo Indian reservation. After completing this work he returned to the east, but in the meantime had become greatly interested in and attached to this part of the country, and resolved to locate perma- nently in the Territory. Accordingly he arrived in 1872 at Santa Fe, and was employed in the surveyor general's office. He made his headquarters at Santa Fé while engaged on government surveys until 1876, when he came to Laguna, where he has since lived. He acted as public land sur- veyor until 1903, and also did private surveying and general engineering work, while for several years he was county surveyor of Valencia county. He has devoted about five vears to the cattle business, and whatever he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion.
Mr. Pradt has not only become well known in connection with the practice of his chosen profession, but also has a wide and favorable acquaint- ance by reason of what he has done in bchalf of public welfare. For one term he was governor of the Laguna Pueblo Indians. He served in the New Mexico militia with the rank of first lieutenant of Company I, Second Regiment of Infantry, in 1882, while in 1883 he became captain and in the same year was made major of the First Regiment of Cavalry. He acted as lieutenant-colonel from 1885 until 1887 in the Second Regiment of Cavalry, and in 1890 was commissioned captain of Company C of the First Regiment of Infantry, while in 1892 and 1893 he was major and inspector of rifle practice on the governor's staff. He also served in Company K of the Fortieth Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers as corporal in the Civil war, and in Company A. Forty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and partici- pated in many engagements along the Mississippi and in various military movements in northern Mississippi and 'Tennessee, mostly against the bush- whackers. He is a member of G. K. Warren Post, G. A. R., Albuquerque, and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades. He has acted as deputy United States marshal and justice of the peace, and the duties of those positions were performed in a most capable manner. He dis- plays the same fidelity of which he gave proof when on southern hattlefields in the Civil war and which has always characterized his public service, whether in office or out of it.
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Simon Bibo, engaged in merchandising at Laguna, New Mexico, ar- rived in the Territory in 1866, traveling to Santa Fé with a bull train, bringing merchandise over the Santa Fé trail for Spiegelberg Brothers, of that city. He was in the employ of Spiegelberg Brothers until 1869, when he established a mercantile store at Seboyeta. In 1870 he took government contracts for Fort Apache and freighted from Seboyeta by bull trains. In 1873 he established a store at Bernalillo in partnership with his brother, Nathan Bibo, this relation being maintained until he sold out in 1892 to Joe Bibo.
Mr. Bibo opened the first road from Zuñi to Fort Apache. In 1880, when the railroad was built, he opened a store at Grants, which he con- tinues to the present time, and in 1893 he established a branch store at Laguna. He now has large stores at Laguna, Grants and Seboyeta, and is thus closely associated with the mercantile interests of this section of the Territory. His brother, Solomon Bibo, established a store at Cubero in 1885. and in 1898 Simon Bibo purchased that store, but in 1904 sold it to Emil and Leopold Bibo. In connection with his extensive mercantile in- terests he is likewise interested in buying and seiling sheep, lambs and wool. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party.
John M. Gunn, a cattleman, miller and merchant living at Laguna, is a native of Hardin county, Ohio. He came to Laguna in 1881, and here became connected with the cattle industry and with surveying. Four years later he formed a partnership with his brother, K. C. C. Gunn, in the cattle business, with which they have since been identified. In 1904 they estab- lished a mercantile store at Laguna under the firm name of Gunn Brothers. In 1893 Mr. Gunn built a flour mill at Laguna, which he enlarged in 1903 until it has a capacity of forty barrels a day. Here he has a steam plant and the grain used is principally raised in this vicinity. The chief brand of flour is the "Pansy," and he supplies a large local demand and does custom work. He also has a cattle ranch about twenty-five miles south of Laguna. He located large beds of lithographic limestone, which are now being operated by the New Mexico Pumice Stone Company, and the officers of this enterprise are: E. E. Lemke, president : John Davern, vice-president ; M. W. Flournoy, treasurer, and E. B. Christy, secretary. Mr. Gunn is interested largely in this undertaking.
He has had some military experience, having served as first lieutenant of the Laguna troop of mounted militia in the Apache war. He also served for several years in the Territorial militia, reaching the rank of captain.
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LOCAL HISTORIES
SOCORRO COUNTY.
As defined by the territorial act of January 9. 1852, Socorro county stretched across New Mexico, with the following bounds: On the south, drawing a direct line to the eastward from the Muerto Spring in the Jornada in the direction of La Laguna, and continuing until it terminates with the boundary of the Territory ; drawing a direct line toward the west from said Muerto Spring, crossing the Rio del Norte and continuing in the same direction until it terminates with the boundary of the Territory, shall be the southern boundary, and the northern boundary is the southern extremity of the county of Valencia,
As now constituted, Socorro is by far the largest county in New Mexico, having an area of 15.386 square miles, or about the size of Maryland, Dela- ware and Rhode Island combined. It is in the first tier of counties to the west, and is still bounded by Valencia, with a portion of Torrance county on the north, and Grant, Sierra and Doña Ana on the south. Lincoln lying to the east. It has a population of over 12,000.
COUNTY OFFICERS.
The records of the county are quite incomplete, but from those in exist- ence the following are ascertained to have held the offices named :
Probate Judges .- 1851-4, Pedro Baca; 1855-6, Juan Jose Baca ; 1857-60, Manuel Vigil : 1861-3. Pedro Baca: 1864, L. M. Baca: 1865-6, Jose Antonio Baca y Pino; 1867, J. M. Shaw: 1868-9, Vivian Baca : 1870-2, Dionicio Jaramillo; 1873, L. M. Baca ; 1874-5, Matias Contreras; 1876, Numa Raymond : 1877-8, Estanislao Mon- toya ; 1870-80, Desiderio Montoya ; 1881-2, Pedro Baca; 1885-7, George W. Hollen- beck: 1888, Esquipula Pino: 1899-90, Francis Buchanan ; 1891-2. Esquipula. Pino ; 1893-4. Camilo Baca; 1895-6. Candelaria Garcia : 1897-1902, Jose E. Torras; 1903-4. Mauricio Miera; 1905-6, Henry Dreyfus.
Probate Clerks .- 1857-8, Vicente St. Vrain: 1859-60, Andres Romero; 1863-5, L. M. Vaca (also spelled Baca) : 1866-7, Julian J. Trujillo ; Pedro A. Baca : 1872-3. Sevara A. Baca: 1875, Desiderio Montoya ; 1876-84. J. M. Chaves ; 1885-6, E. V. Chaves ; 1887-8, Jesus M Luna y S. ; 1889-92, E. V. Chavez ; 1893-4, Estanislao Pino ; 1895-6. Elfego Baca : 1897-8, Edward L. Fortune: 1899-1902, Hermene G. Baca; 1903-6, Boleslo A. Pino.
Sheriffs .- 1857-60, Luis Tafoya ; 1862, Miguel de Luna ; 1865-8. Jesus Ribera ; 1874-6, Luis Tafoya : 1877-80, Juan Maria Garcia ; 1881-2, Andre Montoya ; 1883-4. Pedro A. Simpson : 1885-8. Charles T. Russell; 1889-92, Charles A. Robinson; 1893-4, Leopoldo Contreras: 1895-8, H. O. Bursum; 1899-1902, C. F. Blackington ; 1903-6, Leandro Baca.
Treasurers .- 1866, Atanacio Abeyta; 1882. Antonio Jose Luna: 1885, J. W. Terry : 1887-8, Millard W. Browne; 1880-90, W. D. Burlingame ; 1891-2. Millard W. Browne: 1893-6, E. L. Browne; 1897-1902. Abram Abeyta : 1903-4, Hermene G. Baca ; 1005-6. Jose E. Torres.
Assessors .- 1887-90, Leandro Baca: 1801-2, Justiniano Baca; 1893-6, Nestor P. Eaton ; 1807-8, Cipriano Baca : 1890-1900, Constancio Miera : 1901-4, Benjamin San- chez : 1905-6, John F. Fullerton (resigned, and A. B. Baca appointed to fill the unexpired term).
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County Commissioners .- 1876. Antonio Abeytia y Armijo (chairman), Julian Montoya. Tomas Gonzales: 1877-8, Deonicio Jaramillo (chairman), Geronimo Cha- vez, Rafael Tofoya: 1879-80, Jose M. Apodaca (chairman), Felipe Peralta, Lucas Pino: 1881-2, Tomas Cordova (chairman), Julian Montoya, Richard Stackpole (J. M. Shaw was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Richard Stackpole) ; 1883-4, Matias Contreras (chairman), F. M. Speare, Vivian Baca; 1885-6, Matias Contreras (chairman), Vivian Baca, J. W. Virgin; 1887, Dinnicio Jaramillo (chairman), Lu- ciana Chavez, Alexander Laird: 1888, C. N. Blackwell (chairman), Luciano Chavez, S. C. Vanghn; 1889-90, John M. Tyler (chairman), W. W. Jones, Nestor Gonzales (J. W. McMullen appointed to succeed J. M. Tyler) ; 1891-2, Eutimio Montoya (chairman), Arcadio Sais, W. W. Jones; 1993-4. C. T. Brown (chairman), Anas- tacio Trupillo, W. W. Jones; 1895-96, C. T. Brown (chairman), Anastacio Trujillo, Clement Hightower ; 1897-8, W. W. Jones (chairman), Ramon C. Montoya, Manuel A. Pino; 1899-1900, A. Schley (chairman), F. G. Bartlett, Gregorio Baca; 1901-2, John Greenwald (chairman). M. Contreras. A. E. Rouiller : 1903-4, John Greenwald (chairman), Abram Contreras, Carpio Padilla; 1905-6, Edouardo Jaramillo (chair- man), Abram Contreras, Alfredo Armijo.
Physical Geography .- When it is remembered that Socorro county ex- tends from central New Mexico to the Arizona boundary, a distance of nearly 170 miles, and that its north and south expansion is about two-thirds as great, one is prepared for the statement that its physical features are varied. It contains the most magnificent area of valley land of any county in the Territory, and the greatest variety of natural resources. Roughly esti- mated, of its area of 9,600,000 acres 2,700,000 are mountainous and the balance fit for agriculture or pasture.
Socorro county has three distinct classes of lands: The agricultural, which, as a rule, are found on the Rio Grande and other streams which traverse the Territory; the uplands, or mesas, especially adapted to grazing, and which abound with nutritious grasses, and the mountain ranges, several of which are covered with a luxuriant growth of timber. In the western part of the county, near the Arizona line, are found the Tularosa and San Francisco with their multitude of affluents, and along their valleys are other large bodies of good land.
The Rio Grande valley in this county is bounded on the west by the Socorro, Magdalena and San Mateo mountains, whose average elevation is about 9,000 feet, with some peaks reaching a height of over 10,000 feet. On the east the Sierra Oscura, part of the frontal range of the Rockies, walls in the valley. The first named ranges are very precipitous on their eastward faces, and their rocks are granitic or eruptive in character. Between the Black Range and the Mogollons is a great timber belt, whose forests con- tintie to the summits of the bounding mountains, and within this area runs the continental divide.
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