Seattle to New Mexico (and on to Texas): 2011

Taken from the website: www.ghosttowns.com/states/nm/vanhouten.html because I can’t find any of my notes… Please check out this website – it has lots of information regarding the ghost towns of the US and Canada (you can sort by state) and allows you to submit new ones and details that may be missing. Very interesting site for sure.

Below the info on the mine are some of the photo’s (remember you can click on any photo to enlarge and see a slideshow version) we took around the towns that sprang up near the mine. I remember reading somewhere (aka Whittington Center I’m sure) that many of the workers were of various ethnicities and tended to live together in different ‘towns’ along the valley – Whittington Center is actively working on adding more signage indicating the townships and if they can, identify the various building ruins. The Visitor’s Center has old photographs of the mine during it’s heyday. While it’s true there isn’t a lot of complete buildings left – there is still a lot of foundations, crumbling walls, steps to nowhere and old mining equipment to give someone with a good imagination hours of entertainment and speculation.

Please note that the mine is entirely on the NRA Whittington Center property. Check in at the entry booth to get a visitor's pass to explore the area. Just pay attention to these signs:

NAME: Vanhouten
COUNTY: Colfax
ROADS: 2WD (Raymona says – for the most part but in spots you’ll need higher clearance)
GRID #(see map): 3
CLIMATE: Mild winter, warm summer
BEST TIME TO VISIT:Spring, winter, fall

COMMENTS: The property is privately owned.
REMAINS: Nothing remains.

“The coal mining camp of Willow lay dormant until 1902 when operations were revived by the St. Louis, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Company. The name was changed to Van Houten in honor of the then company president. In 1910, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad extended a branch line into Van Houten and the community began to grow. The town increased in size to about fifteen hundred residents in 1915 and supported two hotels, the Blossburg Mercantile Company among a number of other businesses. The town was largely populated by Germans, Austrians, and Italians all of whom enjoyed gala affairs and celebrations at the town amusement hall. The development of new oil and gas deposits competed strongly with the coal industry forcing the closure of the mine in 1954. The town sponsored an active Red Cross chapter and during World War I sold $111,000 worth of Liberty War Bond subscriptions. This was the largest per capita investment in the war effort of any town in the America. All of the Buildings of Van Houten have disappeared. Today, the property is privately owned by Kaiser Steel Corporation. Courtesy Henry Chenoweth.

UPDATE: Listed in the text is that it belongs to Kaiser Steel, it is now part of the NRA Whittington Center. There is at least one house still standing and the old Mule building is there, without the roof, but you can make out some of the mule names on the wall. Several other ruins are visible including the entrance to the mine. - Courtesy Doug.”

~ www.ghosttowns.com/states/nm/vanhouten.html