Yankee - New Mexico Ghost Town

YANKEE

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

COMMENTS: The site is now occupied by a cattle ranch
REMAINS: Nothing Remains

For a number of years prior to the establishment of the town known as Yankee, farmers from nearby Johnson Mesa dug coal on the slopes of the mesa for their own personal use. In 1904, the Chicorica Coal Company, backed by a Wall Street brokerage firm and the Santa Fe Railroad, promoted by an A. D. Ensign, went forward with the development of the bituminous coal beds in Johnson and Barela mesas. The town of Yankee was formed and began to grow. As the Yankee mines continued to develop, frame houses were built and the population grew to several thousand residents by 1907. The town had all the usual businesses and a school for the miner's children. Ensign built a beautiful two story home that was a show place of solid mahogany, velvet furniture, oriental rugs, and marble statues. The Ensign estate changed hands several times and by 1923 its treasures had been sold and the mansion fell into a state of disrepair. All traces of Yankee have vanished and the site is now occupied by a cattle ranch. Courtesy Henry Chenoweth.

For a number of years prior to the establishment of the town known as Yankee, farmers from nearby Johnson Mesa dug coal on the slopes of the mesa for their own personal use. In 1904, the Chicorica Coal Company, backed by a Wall Street brokerage firm and the Santa Fe Railroad, promoted by an A. D. Ensign, went forward with the development of the bituminous coal beds in Johnson and Barela mesas. The town of Yankee was formed and began to grow. As the Yankee mines continued to develop, frame houses were built and the population grew to several thousand residents by 1907. The town had all the usual businesses and a school for the miner's children. Ensign built a beautiful two story home that was a show place of solid mahogany, velvet furniture, oriental rugs, and marble statues. The Ensign estate changed hands several times and by 1923 its treasures had been sold and the mansion fell into a state of disrepair. All traces of Yankee have vanished and the site is now occupied by a cattle ranch. Courtesy Henry Chenoweth.

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