Kingston is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Sierra County,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States. Its population was 32 as of the 2010 census. The community is located in the

Black Range The Black Range (also called the Devil's Mountains or Sierra Diablo) is an igneous mountain range running north–south in Sierra, Grant, and Catron counties in southwest New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. Description The range's ...

along

New Mexico State Road 152 State Road 152 (NM 152) is a state highway in the US state of New Mexico. NM 152's western terminus is in Santa Clara, at U.S. Route 180 (US 180) and NM 152's eastern terminus is at NM 187 south of Caballo. Route ...

History

Jack Sheddon discovered silver in what would become the Solitaire Mine in 1882. Originally called Percha City, Kingston was surveyed the same year and soon had a population of 1800.

Lillian Russell Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922) was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, praised for her beaut ...

once performed here. The

Depression of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States. It began in February 1893 and officially ended eight months later. The Panic of 1896 followed. It was the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of ...

curtailed mining activities in the area, though there was a brief resurgence during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. By 1952 however, most production had ceased.

Geography

Kingston is located at . According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the community has an area of , all land.

Geology

Following prospecting developments in Hillsboro to the east, silver was discovered in the district in 1880, and extensive mining efforts commenced in 1883. From 1883 to 1893, almost 6,000,000 ounces of silver were produced from 27 mines. From 1934 to 1957, 67,940 ounces of silver were produced, plus 124 ounces of gold.

Base metal A base metal is a common and inexpensive metal, as opposed to a precious metal such as gold or silver. In numismatics, coins often derived their value from the precious metal content; however, base metals have also been used in coins in the past ...

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

s were produced from 1930 to 1949. The Iron King, Empire, and Brush Heap were some of the first mines in the area. Most production was within 460 feet of the surface in the

supergene A supergene is a chromosomal region encompassing multiple neighboring genes that are inherited together because of close genetic linkage, i.e. much less recombination than would normally be expected. This mode of inheritance can be due to genomic ...

zone. Ore minerals included

cerargyrite Chlorargyrite is the mineral form of silver chloride (AgCl). Chlorargyrite occurs as a secondary mineral phase in the oxidation of silver mineral deposits. It crystallizes in the isometric–hexoctahedral crystal class. Typically massive to column ...

, native silver,

polybasite Polybasite is a sulfosalt mineral of silver, copper, antimony and arsenic. Its chemical formula is . It forms black monoclinic crystals (thin, tabular, with six corners) which can show dark red internal reflections. It has a Mohs hardness of 2.5 ...

, and

argentiferous galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...

. From 1952 to 1959, 5,689 tons of

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

ore were produced from the Fusselman Dolomite, mainly from the Iron King Mine.

Pyrolusite Pyrolusite is a mineral consisting essentially of manganese dioxide ( Mn O2) and is important as an ore of manganese.. It is a black, amorphous appearing mineral, often with a granular, fibrous, or columnar structure, sometimes forming reniform ...

is the main manganese ore mineral. Ore deposits occurred mainly along major fault

fissure A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes. Ground fissure A ...

veins Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and fetal c ...

. These faults may represent the outer margin of the

Emory Caldera Emory may refer to: Places * Emory, Texas, U.S. * Emory (crater), on the Moon * Emory Peak, in Texas, U.S. * Emory River, in Tennessee, U.S. Education * Emory and Henry College, or simply Emory, in Emory, Virginia, U.S. * Emory University, in Atl ...

. Most mineralization occurred in the

Late Oligocene The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale The geologic time scale or geological time scale (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the pro ...

. The Lady Franklin Mine was the largest producer of high-grade silver from 1880 to 1893, averaging 15 ounces per ton.

Demographics

Education

Truth or Consequences Municipal Schools Truth or Consequences Municipal Schools is a school district headquartered in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico Truth or Consequences (founded as Hot Springs) is a city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Sierra County. ...

is the school district for the entire county.
Text list
/ref> Truth or Consequences Middle School and Hot Springs High School, both in Truth or Consequences, are the district's secondary schools.

Notable person

* Edward L. Doheny

Gallery

File:Black Range Lodge, Kingston, NM.jpg, Black Range Lodge File:Percha Bank, Kingston, NM.jpg, Former Percha Bank File:Former Vicotorio Hotel, Kingston, NM.jpg, Former

Victorio Victorio (Bidu-ya, Beduiat; ca. 1825–October 14, 1880) was a warrior and chief of the Warm Springs band of the Tchihendeh (or Chihenne, often called Mimbreño) division of the central Apaches in what is now the American states of Texas ...

Hotel File:Former Assay Office, Kingston, NM.jpg, Former

Assay Office Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals. This is often done to protect consumers from buying fake items. Upon successful completion of an assay (i.e. if the metallurgical content is found be equal or bette ...

File:Kingston, NM, fire bell.jpg, Kingston's fire bell was also used to announce the arrival of mail.

References

External links

Kingston on the Sierra County Tourism website
{{authority control Census-designated places in New Mexico Census-designated places in Sierra County, New Mexico