History & Background of Ruidoso, New Mexico
History and Background of Ruidoso, New MexicoRuidoso and its tumultuous start...
Captain Henry Stanton was one of the first to arrive to Ruidoso country in January 1855. He had his orders to come up from Fort Fillmore (an outpost near the Las Cruces vicinity) to join forces with Captain R. E. Ewell. Their mission was to carry out an expedition to find the bands of Apaches that stole some 2,500 sheep. Captain Stanton may have been the very first Anglo to come upon the "Noisy River" (translated: Ruidoso)...the Ruidoso River would eventually lend its very name to the village that surrounded it. The Spaniards were supposedly the very first to discover the Ruidoso Valley...followed by the Mescalero Apache with settlements throughout the valley.
Captain Henry Stanton was killed during his mission which led to the establishment of Fort Stanton in 1855. This Fort was integral to settling the Ruidoso Valley by providing protection and enforcing law and order.
The Ruidoso River was also the pull for Paul Dowlin...of whom was a Civil War veteran. He was a member of the New Mexico Volunteers and, during his enlistment, he also worked as a post trader for Fort Stanton (located between Lincoln and Ruidoso). After his run with the NMV, he received a homestead of 160 acres...as did many other veterans of the Civil War. Through a land purchase grant, he acquired another 600 acres. This land encompassed much of where the Ruidoso village resides today. His purpose, to start a planing mill (for wood) by channeling the river's force, from both Carrizo Creek and the "Noisy River"...his efforts were stifled since the water's force fell short to power up for the wood mill. He converted the mill for grinding grain to match the river's energy. In its earliest days, Ruidoso itself became known as "Dowlin's Mill."
Dowlin met his doom, May 5, 1877, by one of his very own former employees. Jerry Dillon shot an unarmed Dowlin for reasons unknown. Dillon left for Texas never to be heard from again.
Stay tuned here for the continuing Saga of Ruidoso, New Mexico...many more articles to come.
"The West has changed. The curtain has dropped between us and its wild and stirring scenes. The old days are gone. The house dog sits on the hill where yesterday the coyote sang." --Emerson Hough, Passing of the Frontier
"Rio Ruidoso in Spanish means "noisy river." But to me, Rio Ruidoso has a more subtle connotation. It implies a blissful, happy sound." --Antonia Otero Capitan, New Mexico
Images Below are all Earlier Postcards of the Ruidoso Vicinity
from the 1920s - 1950s
Click on images for Magnified Views
We're building an entire Postcard Gallery to be posted at: www.ruidosopostcards.com ...
If you'd like to learn more, be sure to write us at ... we'd love your input: questions@goruidoso.com
Cabin on the "Noisy River"
Plaza Ruidoso circa 1920sTo learn more about Fort Stanton, click here.
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