Colonia Lerdo, a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

located in

San Luis Río Colorado Municipality San Luis Río Colorado is a municipality in the Mexican state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico, covering an area of 8412.75 km2. The municipality is the location of the city of San Luis Rio Colorado, the community of El Golfo de Santa Clara ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, was founded as an agricultural colony in 1872 by entrepreneur Thomas H. Blythe and Mexican Gen. Guillermo Andrade.

Lerdo Landing Lerdo Landing, now a ghost town, in Baja California was originally located in Sonora, Mexico from 1872 to 1896. Later changes to the course of the Colorado river and political boundaries left the site located in Baja California. Lerdo Landing ...

was located 80 miles up the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

from its mouth, and Lerdo was located just east of the river landing on a mesa. Lerdo was described as having streets lined with

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

trees. The colony was intended to grow and harvest the wild

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

that grew over much of the

Colorado River Delta The Colorado River Delta is the region where the Colorado River flows into the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez) in eastern Mexicali Municipality in the north of the state of Baja California in northwesternmost Mexico. The d ...

. They also experimented with growing

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

and raised

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

and other vegetables for their own use. Colonia Lerdo at first populated by 73 persons eventually grew to more than 500 people. After 1896 they migrated to the border abandoning the town. This town belonged to the municipality of

Caborca, Sonora Caborca is the municipal seat of the Caborca Municipality in the Mexican state of Sonora. The city has a population of 67,604, while the municipal population was 89,122 as of 2020. Municipal boundaries are with Pima County, Arizona, in the United ...

. Lingenfelter, Steamboats, p. 60

References

Former populated places in San Luis Río Colorado Municipality, Sonora Geography of Sonora 1872 establishments in Mexico Populated places established in 1872 Lower Colorado River Valley Colorado River {{Sonora-geo-stub