4-2-00 Carthage New Mexico Destroyed

Hello, I have some bad news about Carthage. Yesterday, I went to visit the ghost town of Carthage in Socorro County, New Mexico. Unfortunately, the ghost town of Carthage has been mostly destroyed and removed in the name of a "desert restoration project." At this point, everything that is not native stone has been relocated into piles at a nearby dump site, leaving only the few stone structures behind. Large piles of worn wood and corroded tin at the nearby dump testify that Carthage had been much more than a few low stone walls, but it seems the government does not value the historical significance of this town. The mine tailings have been leveled and covered with surrounding soil, and are ringed with concentric rows of retaining material to fight corrosion. Each of these zones is fenced off from its surrounding region with barbed wire. The "restoration" project is being done by our government, funded by the present coal mining industry. Very tragic. Almost nothing remains. There are a few low walls of crumbling stone, the cement foundation of a what was once probably a tipple, and the foundation of a large adobe structure with brick chimneys which are still half standing. A grade of earth remains where the railroad tracks came in towards the mine. That's it. The rest of the town lies in piled heaps at a location a mile away, along with all sorts of junk, car parts, and the remains of an old lode car. Gregory Zolas, April 2 2000