Twining is 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), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
in
Taos County
Taos County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,937. Its county seat is Taos. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties in New Mexico Territory.
Taos County compris ...
,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
, United States.
Originally called Amizette, this was a small mining district with copper, gold and silver
lode
In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fissure (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock.
The current meaning (ore vein) dates from the 1 ...
s, established in 1893 but abandoned by 1895. About 1902, Prospector William Frazer discovered further copper and gold in the canyon east of the townsite, and persuaded New Jersey banker Albert C. Twining to invest $300,000 in a
smelter. On its first firing, molten ore froze to the sides of the furnace, making it unusable. Bankruptcy followed, and the townsite was abandoned by 1910.
[Pearce, T.M. ed.,’’New Mexico Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary’’, UNM Press 1965, ]
In 1955 the site was acquired by
Ernie Blake
Ernie Blake (1913 – January 14, 1989), originally Ernst Hermann Bloch, was the founder, together with his wife Rhoda, of Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico. He was born in Germany, grew up in Switzerland and went to university in Germany and Switzer ...
, who developed it into
Taos Ski Valley
Taos Ski Valley is a village and alpine ski resort in the southwestern United States, located in Taos County, New Mexico. The population was 69 at the 2010 census. Until March 19, 2008, it was one of four ski resorts in America to prohibit sn ...
. Virtually no trace now remains of the original village.
Notes
Ghost towns in New Mexico
Unincorporated communities in Taos County, New Mexico
Unincorporated communities in New Mexico
{{NewMexico-geo-stub