Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1904-06-15
BOOMVILLE
The True Story Of the Rise and Fall
or a Western Town.

Whlch Tor convenience we snail call
"Boomville. Boomville was situated
in a pretty little valley with a low
range of hills at one side and at a short
distance in the other direction a pictur-
esque group of timber covered noun
tains, which prospectors said, were
full of gold, while off many miles to
the west could be seen the snowy
peaks of a higher range. The natural
advantages of Boomville were such as
few towns have in the hills near the
town, were numerous springs of the
purest Of water, and in the same hills
were rich mines of lead and silver
while on the other side might be found
timber in abundance and the mesa be-
tween the town and the mountains was
underlaid with an inexhaustible supply
of coal
Back from the town along the valley
were thousands of acres Of land as fer
tile as the valley of the Nile only wait
ing the enterprise of some one who
would bring the water over them to be
transformed into veritable garden.
About the time Boomville began to
take on the appearance OF permanent
town, changing the tents Of the pros
pectors for more substantial frame and
adobe buildings, railway built down
the valley and it was thought that the
division would be located at the new
mining town; land was plentiful and
the surface was so smooth and level
that no grading would have to be done
to prepare large roomy yards, but
some of the first corners owned the
land and seeing a fortune in what the
railway company would pay for it.,
they held on stubbornly for their price.
OF course the division could not be any
place else; this was the future metro
polls of the west. But the engineers
moved on and surveyed yards and depot
lgrounds at point some 30 miles tar.
ther down the valley, and the material
was reloaded onto the cars as the track
laying reach the Gap as the latter place
was called, and the shops were erected
there
For time the mines at Boomvill,
nourished, there We're large number.
of men at work and money was plenti
ful. All night the clinking of glasses
and the jingle of coin could be hear,
It the resorts of the town, and tn,
streets were as gay and active as il
the day. The coal mines were work
ing and freight teams lined the streets
finally company bought the mine
, and branch road was to be built ou
to them. Again the property owner
had visions of the profits they woul
/, receive for the sale of their land an
, the branch was built out from anoths
! point three miles distant.
Just then came the fall in the price of si
Yer and the mines closed down leavin
hundreds of men out of employment
and Boomville with all her bright pros
poets began to fail. The merchants be
!, gan to talk of poor trade and many pee
pie moved away.
: A year or two latter, there was
big strike of gold in the mountain
some 35 miles from Boomville and
rush began; the country was rough an
hard to travel over, and there was
demand for road, Boomville had bee
the point where parties going to tn
gold camp left the railway and man
were the dollars they left with the mel
chants and hotel keepers of the towl
but when the request for financial a
to build a road to the camp came Il
property owners would spend no none
and such schems and the road WI
built from the Gap over muC
harder route but the people of II
Gap" get the benefit. Thus the tow
of such bright prospects and such a,
! vantages went on until today the o.
casional health seeker or curio hunte
who alights from the train at the tuT
BILE down old group of buildings fin,
a boarding house and two or thr,
stores and the post Office. If by cham
he sits down to talk with the propri
tor Of one of the stores he will be e
tertained by the story of what go
times we used to have in the'70's al
it will finish up with But it ant tn
way now the towns dead. "
The moral we should draw from 4
fate of Boomville is that when oppo