Organ, New mexico


"The mining camp of Organ (elevation 5,084 feet) was not officially established as a community until 1883 although there had been mining activity since the late 1840s. President Chester A. Arthur granted the 40-acre parcel of land under congressional approval through a federal land grant to the Organ Mining Corporation in 1883. Actual mining in the Organ townsite was prohibited. The town's greatest population was around eighteen hundred at the turn of the century. At that time, Organ had seven saloons, a Catholic church, a two-teacher schoolhouse, two smelters, two general stores and a tunnel jail that was originally a powder magazine. New Organ is a modern day community on U.S. 70 with many of its residents presently employed at the White Sands Missile Base."

"Today, numbering about 100 households, Organ is under the direct jurisdiction of Doña Ana County and the County Probate Judge as directed in the presidential order of 1883, because it was never incorporated. The state government recognizes Organ as an independent community under New Mexico State House Bill 523 of the 44th State Legislature in 1999, which recognized "Traditional Historic Communities." For this reason, Organ cannot be annexed by any municipality according to the provisions directed under this house bill."

"The Organ Community Center was improved in 2008 and is still located on land of the original town square. The roads are paved and improvements are still ongoing through the supervision of Dona Ana County. The Organ Post Office is in full operation and Organ still has a few businesses. The cemetery remains in use and is called the "Slumbering Mountain Cemetery" with newer and historic graves."


Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Pat Garrett at Organ Court

Pat Garrett's ranch was here, and he was murdered (Wayne Brazel confessed to it but questions remain) on his way from Organ to Las Cruces, 11 miles away.

"Deacon Jim" Miller (far left in photo) may have murdered Pat Garrett in a paid hit, he was later lynched in Oklahoma for a different murder.

For hot links to some very good articles on the Pat Garrett murder, look over to the right of the page.

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