Alma is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and census-designated place in

Catron County, New Mexico Catron County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,579, making it New Mexico's third-least populous county. Its county seat is Reserve. Catron County is New Mexico's largest county by area. ...

, United States, north of Glenwood and south of

Reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

History

Sergeant James C. Cooney laid out a town on site of Alma in the early 1870s, but left it undeveloped. The town was bought by a Captain Birney, who named it "Alma" for his mother. In 1882 the

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

opened in Alma, lasting until 1931. The town was home of

Butch Cassidy Robert LeRoy Parker (April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908), better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train robbery, train and bank robbery, bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, ...

and the

Sundance Kid Harry Alonzo Longabaugh (1867 – November 7, 1908), better known as the Sundance Kid, was an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch in the American Old West. He likely met Butch Cassidy (real name Robert LeRoy Parker) during a hunti ...

's infamous

Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...

gang for a short period. They worked at the nearby WS ranch. Reportedly, the foreman and ranch manager were very happy with the Wild Bunch's work since the rustling stopped while they were employed at the ranch.

Tom Ketchum Thomas Edward Ketchum (known as Black Jack; October 31, 1863 – April 26, 1901) was an American cowboy who later became an outlaw. He was executed in 1901 for attempted train robbery. The execution by hanging was botched; he was decapitat ...

Harvey Logan Harvey Alexander Logan (1867 – June 17, 1904), also known as Kid Curry, was an American outlaw and gunman who rode with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's infamous Wild Bunch gang during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite being l ...

and William Antrim,

Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...

's stepfather, also lived in Alma at some point. Artist

Olaf Wieghorst Olaf Wieghorst (April 30, 1899 – April 27, 1988) was a Danish-American painter who specialized in depictions of the American frontier. His art was in the vein of Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. In 1992, he was inducted into the Hal ...

once worked on the Cunningham Ranch near Alma.

Charlie Siringo Charles Angelo Siringo (February 7, 1855 – October 18, 1928) was an American lawman, detective, bounty hunter, and agent for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life Siringo was born o ...

wrote that Butch Cassidy "ran a saloon there under the name of Jim Lowe." Alma is the site of a

Boot Hill Boot Hill, or Boothill, is the generic name of many Cemetery, cemeteries, chiefly in the Western United States. During the 19th and early 20th century it was a common name for the burial grounds for Potter's field, paupers. Origin of term Al ...

cemetery, which is located about two miles north of the town.

Alma Massacre

The "Alma Massacre" involved an Indian raid on United States settlers' homes around Alma in 1880. As many as 41 people were killed during and immediately after the event. There were two memorials erected to commemorate these events.

Present

Today, Alma is labeled as a "ghost town" by the

New Mexico Tourism Department The New Mexico Tourism Department is a state agency of New Mexico, headquartered in the Lamy Building in Santa Fe. It publishes '' New Mexico Magazine'' and distributes '' New Mexico True Television''. References External links * {{autho ...

. Situated on

U.S. Route 180 U.S. Route 180 is an east–west United States highway. Like many three-digit routes, US 180 no longer meets its "parent", US 80. US 80 was decommissioned west of Mesquite, Texas, and was replaced in Texas by Interstate 20 and Interstate 1 ...

, the town has a restaurant and a small store, as well as a few dozen scattered homes. There is a cemetery with more than 100 burials dating from the 1880s to present. The well-kept grounds are marked with a hand-crafted sign. There are several other cemeteries in Alma's proximity, as well, including the WS Ranch Cemetery and

Cooney's Tomb Cooney's Tomb is a historic location near Alma, Catron County, New Mexico. Marked by a large boulder on the side of a roadway, it is the site where former Army Sergeant James C. Cooney was interred in 1880 after being killed by a group of Apache ...

. The town is in the middle of the Blue Range Wilderness, which is part of New Mexico's

Gila National Forest The Gila National Forest is a United States national forest in New Mexico. Established in 1905, it now covers approximately , making it the sixth largest national forest in the continental United States. The Forest administration also manage ...

and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. In the 1998 the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

reintroduced the

Mexican gray wolf The Mexican wolf (''Canis lupus baileyi''), also known as the ''lobo mexicano'' (or, simply, ''lobo'') is a subspecies of gray wolf (''C. lupus'') native to eastern and southeastern Arizona and western and southern New Mexico (in the United Sta ...

to its historic range, including the area surrounding Alma. Ranchers in the area have expressed concerns about the impact of the wolf on the local cattle population while environmentalists contend that ranchers are not managing their herds properly.Valdez, L. (May 22, 2008
"Wolf country: Ranchers fighting comeback of a predator that's good for the land"
The ''

Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...

''.Holmes, S.M., June 27, 2007
"Wolf program remains hot issue"
, ''Mail Tribune''. In 2000 a local newspaper reported a number of wolf sightings and wolf attacks on cattle. Meanwhile, environmentalists in the area contend that the federal government is acting in the favor of the ranchers, with forty-nine percent of all reintroduced wolves "captured or killed because of conflicts with ranchers." The wolf reintroduction program remains a "hot issue", and there are environmentalists, ranchers, law enforcement, and a variety of others involved.

Demographics

Education

It is in the Reserve Independent School District.

References

Bibliography

* Stanley, F. (1960) ''The Alma Story''. * Reed, O. (2005
"In a remote cemetery, far from home, lie the soldiers killed in a Christmastime skirmish with Apaches,"
''Albuquerque Tribune.'' 12/22/05.

External links

Olaf Wieghorst Museum
website.

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Catron County, New Mexico American frontier History of United States expansionism Unincorporated communities in New Mexico