San Marcial was a community in Socorro 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, founded in 1854 and survivor of two floods and a fire, but is now 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 ...

, a deserted site with little left of the original town, destroyed in a great flood in 1929. San Marcial was approximately south of Socorro.

History

Foundation

San Marcial was founded ''circa'' 1854 by Pascual Joyla, who built a house on the east side of the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

and began selling produce and firewood in Fort Conrad, to the north. A small community grew up around Joyla's house, taking its name from the third century Frenchman, Saint Martial of Limoges. A flood wiped out the village in 1866, and the people relocated to the other side of the river. In July 1881, a fire almost completely destroyed the new community. The town was rebuilt, and became a center for the surrounding irrigated farms,

Prosperity

When the railway passed through the area in the 1880s, a new community initially called "New San Marcial" developed near the railway station to the west. This later obtained the Post Office name of San Marcial. Between 1890 and 1920, San Marcial was the second largest town in Socorro County. San Marcial attained a population of about 1,400 by 1929. In 1917, the villages to the south of the community were ordered to evacuate, since they would be flooded by the

Elephant Butte Reservoir Elephant Butte Reservoir is a reservoir on the southern part of the Rio Grande in the U.S. state of New Mexico, north of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, Truth or Consequences. The reservoir is the 84th largest man-made lake in the United Sta ...

. Many of them moved to San Marcial or to Val Verde. In 1920, a flood caused great destruction in the region, leaving many homeless. After this, much work was spent on flood defenses.

Abandonment

On 13 August 1929, following heavy rain, there was a massive flood in the area. According to the ''Socorro Chieftain'' of 17 August 1929: Some residents tried to rebuild after the August 13 flood, but a second flood on September 23 put an end the town. The main employer, the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

, had enough and pulled out. Without the trains and the

Harvey House The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the Western United States. It was founded in 1876 by Fred Harvey (entrepreneur), Fred Harve ...

, there was no reason for anyone to stay, although as late as the 1930 census a few people lingered on. Today, a cemetery remains the only obvious sign of the former settlement, although parts of the Santa Fe Railroad's roundhouse can still be found if one knows where to look.

External links

San Marcial Floods

References

Citations Sources * * * {{authority control Geography of Socorro County, New Mexico Ghost towns in New Mexico