Shandon - New Mexico Ghost Town

SHANDON

NAME: Shandon
COUNTY: Sierra
ROADS: 2WD
GRID #(see map): 7
CLIMATE: Mild winter, warm summer
BEST TIME TO VISIT:Spring, winter, fall

COMMENTS: Short Lived
REMAINS: Not much remains.

Shandon was another mining camp that was here today and gone tomorrow. The town lasted only a couple of years from 1904 to 1906. It all started when the intoxicated miner who discovered a rich deposit of placer couldn't hold his whiskey or his tongue and bragged about his discovery one night in a saloon in the town of Hillsboro. Before dawn, hundreds of people were on their way to the Caballos Mountains with the hope of staking claims that would make them rich. Most were disappointed and returned home to do whatever they were doing when the news broke about the find. An occasional few ounces of gold were still being mined from the detrital washes as late as 1942. Courtesy Henry Chenoweth.

Shandon was another mining camp that was here today and gone tomorrow. The town lasted only a couple of years from 1904 to 1906. It all started when the intoxicated miner who discovered a rich deposit of placer couldn't hold his whiskey or his tongue and bragged about his discovery one night in a saloon in the town of Hillsboro. Before dawn, hundreds of people were on their way to the Caballos Mountains with the hope of staking claims that would make them rich. Most were disappointed and returned home to do whatever they were doing when the news broke about the find. An occasional few ounces of gold were still being mined from the detrital washes as late as 1942. Courtesy Henry Chenoweth.

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