County of town: Santa Fe County
Location of town: East-Central in county; crossroads of NM-14 & CR-57
Population: 229 (2000)
This is almost a ghost town, but not quite. A great time talking with the vary friendly natives, and wandering around a town that would be perfect for a movie about the old west.
I made this trip in 2009. I was returning home to Missouri with my son, who had, at the time, just graduated from US Marine Corps Boot Camp in San Diego. Only have one photo, because I had not heard of Waymarking at this time.
"Accessible from State Highway 14 commonly called the Turquoise Trail, Cerrillos is on the scenic road from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, closer to Santa Fe. While it was once seriously considered as the capitol of New Mexico, today Cerrillos, with its dirt streets, is a picturesque reminder of the Old West. It is home to Broken Saddle Riding Company, Cerrillos Station, Mary's Bar, Black Bird Saloon, Bill Skrips Studio, St. Joseph Church, Cerrillos Hills State Park with 5 miles of hiking, biking and riding trails, Cerrillos Community Church and Casa Grande Trading Post, Mining Museum & Petting Zoo. There is a Post Office and Ortiz Mountain Health Center. The Cerrillos Historical Society works to preserve the area history and family database with this website. The Mining Museum contains artifacts from the Cerrillos Mining District and American Old West and examples of rare Cerrillos turquoise are on display." ~ The City of Cerrillos
"The Cerrillos Hills in north-central New Mexico—a mere 20 miles from Santa Fe—is one of the oldest historically documented mining districts in the United States. Keres and Tano Puebloans from the nearby Rio Grande and Galisteo Basins began mining turquoise in 900 CE, which was used for medicinal and ritual purposes.
"By the early 1300s, Pueblo potters from the central Río Grande area were mining galena (lead sulfide), which was the source of glaze paint used to decorate pottery. This ceased after 1700 when the Spanish inhabitants, who worked many of the mines in the Cerrillos Hills for their silver and lead content, cut off Puebloan access.
"In early 1879, two intrepid miners from Leadville, Colorado discovered gold in the hills. The railroad arrived a year later. Before long, the area was overrun by miners and prospectors searching for gold, silver, lead, and turquoise. The town of Los Cerrillos, first established as a tent camp, sprung up virtually overnight.
"By the end of 1880, there were several thousand prospectors, at least 21 saloons, five brothels, an opera house, and four hotels. More than 4,000 prospecting pits, holes and mine shafts were dug between 1879 and 1884. Regrettably, most of these did not produce sufficient minerals to generate a profit, and virtually none ended up having significant gold. After mineral production peaked in the mid-1880s, coal mining became the foundation of the area’s economy. Most mining operations ceased in the 1920s." ~ Atlas Obscure