Trementina 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 ...
in
San Miguel 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.
In 2010, it had a population of 184 people. The ZIP Code for Trementina is 88439.
Its name is
Spanish for
turpentine
Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...
, in reference to the pitch of the
pinon pine, which was used by the Spanish Americans as a
folk medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...
and a substitute for chewing gum. Largely consisting of ranch property, Trementina is sparsely populated and has such a preponderance of abandoned buildings that some classify it as 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 ...
.
"Trementina - New Mexico Ghost Town"
Ghost Towns. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
Spanish-American origins
It was originally a Spanish American village founded after the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
primarily by sheepherders who grazed their sheep in the mesas and grasslands between Cañon Largo to the north (now part of the Sabinoso Wilderness area) and Variadero Mesa to the South and the Canadian River to the East and the Conchas River to the West. Santiago Blea is credited with founding the community. The early Spanish Americans who settled the area defined land ownership by points of reference. When the area was surveyed by the U.S. Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...
in 1880, many people lost their land because they did not understand the new laws and did not file for homesteads. Other U.S. citizens from he east took advantage of the new laws and homesteaded tracts of lands. The Spanish Americans were a forgiving people and lived peacefully with the homesteaders. Gradually the Spanish American and homesteaders intermarried and raised their children in the area.
The homesteaders depart
Many of the homesteaders left after a drought between 1918 and 1923 and sold their homesteads to those who chose to remain. The result was the creation of larger ranches which eventually chose cattle in place of sheep. The community survived and dozens of families lived in Trementina until the mid-1950s. A Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
missionary by the name of Alice Blake lived among the people for about 40 years and brought many innovations to the community and encouraged education. Many of the descendants of Trementina have gone on to higher education. The community diminished in population after World War II when veterans returned to ruined ranches and took jobs in the nearby cities to support their families. The descendants of Trementina retain a strong identity and hold an annual reunion each Memorial Day to honor the many veterans from the area and to reinforce the sense of community.
See also
* Trementina Base
References
External links
Google Map of Trementina, NM
Photos of Scientology's Trementina Base
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Ghost towns in New Mexico
Spanish-American culture in New Mexico
Spanish communities in the United States
Unincorporated communities in New Mexico
Unincorporated communities in San Miguel County, New Mexico