We continued our pandemic ghost town tour with a visit to Chloride, NM.
The 20 current residents of Chloride live in a former ghost town. It was originally established in 1880, two years after Briton Harry Pye chanced upon silver ore, a discovery he initially kept secret. Word eventually got out, prompting a boom.
Chloride, in its heyday, had nine saloons, a general store, a dry goods store, a millinery shop, a restaurant, a butcher shop, a candy store, a pharmacy, a Chinese laundry, a photography studio, a school, and two hotels. The Black Range newspaper was printed in Chloride from 1882 to 1896.
The demise of Chloride began with the Silver Panic of 1893 and was hastened by the presidential election of 1896, which resulted in a drastic decline in silver prices.
Today, the remaining buildings are used as a museum, a coop art gallery, a historic cabin, a cafe, and 2 cabins that can be rented for short stays. It is a long drive from the nearest town, but on our way in we saw this roadside food truck and stopped for lunch. There were some folks just leaving who told Stephen he HAD to try the tacos. We got our lunches to go and ate them in the picnic pavilion next to the Chloride museum.
After we explored Chloride, we headed for Silver City, stopping a few times along the way to take pictures.
As in most places, restaurants in Silver City are having trouble ramping up their staffing to meet the new demand for indoor dining. We found a restaurant with space on their patio, but it took 45 minutes to get food. Fortunately, the waitress was upbeat and doing her best and the food, when it came, was delicious.
We stayed at the historic Murray Hotel in Silver City. Stephen loves to find us interesting places to stay! This one has an art deco vibe and a retro look.
Silver City's small but cool historic district is sort of Old West meets Art Deco. I loved walking around! There are galleries and used book stores and yoga studios and restaurants and antique shops and gift shops. The museum wasn't open when we were there, so we'll have to plan another trip. We had a special hike planned to break up the drive home, but a thunderstorm squashed that plan. Another reason to revisit this place.
