The Telegraph Arrives in New Mexico

In July 1868, a telegraph connection was established between Santa Fe and Denver, Colorado. On July 10, the system was officially inaugurated. Telegraph offices were located in Santa Fe and Las Vegas, NM. (2) Fort Union, to the north, probably had an office too.                                                         
                                                                                                                                

After the civil war, many new forts were being established in the territory to combat Apache raids. (1) With New Mexico being so large, adequate communications became a problem. On March 3, 1875 Congress passed a bill authorizing the construction of a telegraph line to connect Santa Fe to Tucson, Arizona via Ft. Craig, Seldon, Bayard & Bowie. (2)

Fort Cummings, circa 1880. A telegraph pole call be seen 
along the road in the lower left of the photo.

Over the next several months, the line made its way down from Santa Fe, through Albuquerque, to Socorro, over to Ft. Craig, and south through a barren desert to Ft. Selden. John Martin provided poles for this section at $1.75 per pole. (2) From Ft. Selden, the line curbed southwestward to meet up with the old Butterfield Trail. The line paralleled the trail through Goodsight Station up to Ft. Cummings. After leaving Ft. Cummings, the line followed the Butterfield west, through Massacre Canyon. Once in the Mimbres Valley, the two split with the telegraph heading northwest to Ft. Bayard. From Ft. Bayard, the line turned southwest through the Burro Mountains to Ralston, just south of present-day Lordsburg. Silver City provided 200 of the needed poles. (2) At the same time, California Volunteers in Arizona were completing the line from Ft. Bowie to Ralston, the Arizona/New Mexico connection.(3) Joseph Bennett, of Silver City, provided the 2,300 poles for this section. (2) By the 1st week of May 1877, the line was competed. (3)

The Telegraph's Later Years & Insulator Collecting

By the Mid-1880's the telegraph was no longer needed, partially due to the end of Apache attacks, and also in part to the new Heliograph system. Parts of the line were dismantled, others were abandoned, and still others were "rolled up" and stored for future use. When the government realized they didn't need the stored portions, they were sold to private ventures. As for the portions of the lines left out in the desert, local ranchers scavenged poles, nails and wire for their person needs.

Threadless CD 728.4 in the wild!

Insulator collecting along the old line is a lot of fun. Much interest in this line has been devoted by a handful of collections. Around Ft. Union, Boston Bottle Works CD 158.2's and Brookfield CD 126's have been located. Near Ft. Craig, in the 1970's, a whole Boston 158.2 was discovered, along with pieces of threadless Brookfields. In other areas of the North / South portion of the line, pieces of 158.2's have been reported. (4)

Insulator shards found to the east of Ft. Cummings.

My personal explorations have been centered around Ft. Cummings and the Butterfield Trail. This area is extremely rich in history. While walking along the old line, you can almost see linemen working on the line, while a stagecoach passes nearby. In the distance, you can sport the fort, protecting against the Apaches hiding out in the hills above. You then stumble across an insulator shard where a pole once stood, and you know you connected to this area's history. Isn't that exciting?

On my explorations, I have found numerous insulator shards. West of Massacre Canyon I have located various shards of CD 728.4 Brookfields, and pieces of a Brookfield CD 133. East of Ft. Cummings, I found more 728.4 shards, a 133 shard, and a chunk of CD 158.2 Boston (Patent Applied For version). A 1992 archeological expedition claims to have found a whole "aqua Brookfield insulator" near Goodsight Station. There are many, many more miles of line still unwalked, with treasures to be found!

Finds from the military telegraph; CD 728.4 Brookfield 
are at top, line hardware is in the center, and a piece 
of CD 158.2 Boston Bottle works is at the bottom.

An Oddity

While following a railroad line northwest of Lordsburg, I have chanced upon pieces from CD 123 EC&M's and 728.4 Brookfields. The telegraph along the railroad was installed in 1882. Could these be pieces of the military line that had been stored, and later sold to the railroad?

Researching this line has been a challenge and a lot of fun. If anyone has comments, more information, or corrections, I would be glad to hear from you. Contact me at:

16 Crestway Dr, Silver City, NM 88061
or email: redchile@newmexico.com

Finds from the railroad 
NW of Lordsburg; 
Top pieces are CD 728.4

Resources:

1. Local New Mexico high school course.

2. Miller, Darlis, The California Column in New Mexico, pg. 138-139, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1982.

3. Rue, Norman, The JournaI of Arizona History. "Pesh-Bi-Yalti Speaks", pg. 253-256.

4. Insulators, Crown Jewels of the Wire, Feb. 1972, "Boston Bottle Works in New Mexico", article by Chris Buys, pg. 15-18.

I would like to thank the following personal resources: Tom Katonak; WMNU Miller Library; Dr. Dale Geise and the Silver City Public Library

Editors' Note: Powell's article was one of the winning articles submitted in a "Kids Korner" contest. Additional articles submitted by youngsters will be printed throughout the winter and spring issues of Crown Jewels.