Cambray is a
locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localitie ...
in eastern
Luna County, New Mexico
Luna County (Spanish: ) is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,427. Its county seat is Deming. This county abuts the Mexican border. Luna County comprises the Deming, NM Micropol ...
at an elevation of .
It is located one mile west of the
Doña Ana county line.
[Julyan, Robert (1998) "Cambray" ''The Place Names of New Mexico'' (revised edition) University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico]
page 55
Cambray was first a water stop on the
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
, then a stop along
U.S. Route 70
U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States ...
and
U.S. Route 80
U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the ...
. When the highway was realigned in 1956, Cambray slowly fell into decline and became a
ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
.
History
Cambray was established in 1892, the
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
drilled a well to create a water stop. The location was recognized by the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
as a mailing destination in 1893.
The main automobile route through Cambray was originally part of State Road 4.
In 1917, the
Dixie Overland Highway
The Dixie Overland Highway was an auto trail across the southern United States. It was conceived in July 1914 by the Automobile Club of Savannah, which envisioned a practical all-year driving route from Georgia to California. It was originally ...
, a transcontinental
auto trail
The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in t ...
, was established over Route 4 through Cambray and became the main highway between
Deming and
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
.
The
Bankhead Highway
The Bankhead Highway was a United States cross-country automobile highway connecting Washington, D.C., and San Diego, California, San Diego. The Bankhead Highway's beginnings can be traced back to 1916 when the Bankhead Highway Association was or ...
was added to the route in 1920, followed by the
Old Spanish Trail in 1923.
On November 11, 1926, the highway was added to the newly created
U.S. Highway System
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
as
U.S. Route 80
U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the ...
.
Cambray would enjoy a short but successful second life as a stop along new US 80 and
US 70
U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States. ...
when the latter highway was also designated over the route.
During the 1930s, the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
constructed a highway overpass over the Southern Pacific Railroad and built several
irrigation canals
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or river engineering, engineered channel (geography), channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport watercraft, vehicles (e.g. ...
as part of the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
program. The CCC workers were housed in an
auto court on the side of US 80 in Cambray and did most of their business at the town's general store.
During the mid 20th Century, Cambray enjoyed a peak population of 75 residents.
The end of the small town's success arrived in 1956, when US 70 and US 80 were re-aligned onto a new highway bypassing Cambray. Today, the newer route is part of
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...
.
The population fell to a single family and the roadside businesses closed. Many of the abandoned buildings fell into disrepair as Cambray became a
ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
. The only dedicated road serving Cambray is still the former route of US 70 and US 80, now
New Mexico State Road 549
State Road 549 (NM 549) is a , paved State highway (US), state highway in Luna County, New Mexico, Luna and Doña Ana County, New Mexico, Doña Ana counties in the U.S. state of New Mexico. NM 549's western terminus is within the ...
.
See also
*
U.S. Route 80 in New Mexico
*
U.S. Route 70 in New Mexico
*
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...
*
List of ghost towns in New Mexico
This is a partial list of ghost towns in New Mexico in the United States of America.
Conditions
Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. Some sites no longer have any trace of buildings or civilization and h ...
References
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Luna County, New Mexico
Unincorporated communities in New Mexico
Ghost towns in New Mexico
U.S. Route 80
1892 establishments in New Mexico Territory
U.S. Route 70