Orogrande and the Jarilla Mountains
Near Orogrande New Mexico is the remains of the Brice Mining Town. Located in the Jarilla Mountains, the town was named after the head of one of the local mining companies.
"Ole Perk" S. M. Perkins, was wandering the Jarilla Mountains west of present-day Orogrande, NM. He was captured by Mescalero Apaches but when the Apaches noticed Ole Perk was a hunchback, they released him and allowed him to prospect in the Jarilla Mountains. Near the turn of the century, he found mineral deposits that resulted in a rush to the area. His property later became known as the Nannie (or Mannie, Ninnie) Baird (or Baeird, Beaird) Mine and it also became the site of the Jarilla Mining Camp, later to be called Brice, New Mexico. In 1904, the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad ran a spur from Jarilla Junction to Brice.
George E. Moffett discovered a gold nugget in 1905 the size of a man's finger and so the town east of Brice came to be called Orogrande (big gold) instead of Jarilla Junction. In 1905 the population of Brice was about 150 people and the town included a post office, store, saloon and more mining companies. The post office later closed but by 1919 the population had increased to 300 people. In 1920, Brice became a ghost town.
The first school house in the area was built in Brice in 1905 and we are told the cellar and foundation can still be seen, although we have yet to be able to find it. Children from Orogrande were taken to the school in Brice until 1918. Orogrande, as it exists today, is a ghost town with very few people. Brice has only a few remaining features, including a powder magazine, a graveyard and the original Nannie Baird Mine, is now closed by the BLM.
Hundreds of mines, adits, and prospects litter the Jarilla Mountains, so much so that you could spend years looking and investigating each one. In the southern portion of the Jarillas, next to the Little Joe Mine, the GPAA holds a claim that many people work on during the weekends.
Legal stuff: We, at the Raging Main, do not encourage nor do we recommend for anyone to venture into any mines, shafts or caves...neither does the BLM Abandoned Mine Lands Cleanup Program. Mines are killers and many hazards exist...If you have questions about mine safety please go to: http://www.blm.gov/aml/.
While we agree that abandoned mines are dangerous, we feel that the mining history should be documented before they are closed permanently as these mines are such an important part of New Mexico's history both as a territory and as a state.
Of the many mines in the area, there are a few large mines that are still open and have yet to be closed by the BLM under the Abandoned Mines Cleanup Program. Some of these large mines are:
I-Mine (Closed by the BLM due to 200+ ft vertical shaft)
The Charleston Mine (Scheduled under the phase 2 closings)
Other ruins exist in the Jarilla Mountains. The common site is the Old Railroad Grade. In actuality, one of the main roads through the Jarillas is built on the old railroad grade. However, one can see in a few spots the old railroad ties along with miscellaneous ruins in the various canyons and old cisterns.
The images in the various slideshows are of this old El Paso and Northeastern Railroad grade, various ruins, the Orogrande School House, an old Studebaker that we found and the remains of the old water pipeline brought to Orogrande by the infamous Oliver Lee.