Chloride: Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway, New Mexico

SIDE TRIP 6 to Chloride is a short drive through the rolling countryside, very well worth the minimal detour. Heading toward Chloride from Winston, you may have a moment or two of confusion; ignore any secondary routes and just stay on what is obviously the main road. The primary road in this Side Trip is a two-lane paved road in good repair. Safety conditions are good. Note that there may be cattle and horses on the road; cattle and horses have the legal right-of-way.
CHLORIDE was founded in 1879 after silver chloride ore was discovered nearby. By late 1881, the city boasted eight saloons, three general stores, restaurants, butcher shops, at least one brothel (and probably more), a newsstand, candy store, lawyer, doctor, Chinese laundry, lumber yard, assay office, boarding house, school, livery stable, two hotels, stage line, and a population of about three thousand. Because of the scarcity of females in town, the "city fathers" offered a free building site to single women who chose Chloride as a place to live. The same report states that a building site would be provided to the father of the first child born in Chloride - if it could be learned who the father was. There were 12 producing mines and nearly 500 prospector holes in and around Chloride. Like other silver-producing towns in the region it was wiped out during the silver panic of 1893, precipitated by the U.S. government selecting gold as the monetary standard. Today, some of the old buildings are being restored, and the Pioneer Store is now a world-class museum listed on the New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs' list of Historic Places. The 200-year-old "hanging tree" still grows in the middle of main street, not far from the site where an English muleskinner named Harry Pye discovered high-grade silver ore in the 1870s. Two old cemeteries that served the town are also nearby; Harry Pye is in one of them, killed by Apaches a few months after filing his claim. About 20 people now live in the town.
	Please note that there is no gasoline available on the Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway west of Truth or Consequences / Williamsburg and Elephant Butte. This is the majority of the Trail, which runs through some very remote countryside. Fill your tank before you leave! Gasoline is available on Side Trip 5; or, if you choose to follow the Alternate Loop, gas is available at Silver City. Please also note that bridges between Caballo and Hillsboro bear twelve-foot, six-inch height restrictions; and the Forest Service advises not only that trailers over twenty feet are unsafe on Forest Development Road 150, but that low-clearance / non-four-wheel-drive vehicles travel that section of the Trail at their own risk.
What's on the web about Chloride?
(This will take you to our Links page.)
Next stop on the E-Tour: the town of Cuchillo...
	Enjoy the nature, history, and culture of southwest New Mexico - but don't disturb the natural, historical, and cultural sites. Do not remove, destroy, or deface anything on any site; strict laws protect artifacts on State, Federal, Indian, and private lands. Buying, selling, trading, or transporting these stolen items is also illegal. Please report looting and vandalism to federal land management authorities or the local sheriff. Hide all traces of your travels as the Apache hid their passing so these wildlands may remain unspoiled, the historical sites may remain true to their history, and the developed sites may remain clean and pleasant. Thank you.