Image of the Month, November 2020
If you look closely at the long, low-lying landform that sits against the horizon, you may see the silhouette of a covered wagon and a team of mules. You may even hear the whoop and holler of the teamster and the crack of the whip on the mules’ backs.
The landform is known as Wagon Mound after which the frontier town was named. Located at the edge of the prairie in New Mexico, the landform and town are surrounded by miles of prairie, grassland, sky and space.
The wagon we imagine is on its way to La Junta (Watrous) where the Cimarron and Mountain Branches of the Santa Fe Trail converge. From La Junta, the wagon will continue on to Santa Fe.
Explorers, Adventurers, Traders and Settlers
After Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, the Spanish policy of excluding outsiders from New Mexico was abandoned. The eastern prairie of New Mexico was then opened to exploration, adventure, trade and settlement.
William Becknell, known as the father of the Santa Fe Trail, was the first trader to leave Missouri. He headed west for 750 miles along the newly forming trail with 20 men and a pack train of goods to sell. Soon a vibrant commerce was burgeoning between Missouri and New Mexico.
Anglo Contributions to New Mexico
The American “Anglos”, as they were called, were eager to find their fortunes and experience excitement in a new land. They brought economic development and technology to New Mexico as well as their customs and beliefs. The Anglo migration changed New Mexico forever.
Wagon Mound and the Prairie Today
Today the prairie is a void, and Wagon Mound is a dying town. Little remains of the village except the decaying facades of previously elegant buildings. The residue of distinctive architectural details such as pressed metal cornices and decorative brick bear witness to Wagon Mound’s better days.
Most of the small homesteaders who tried to settle the prairie could not survive on their 160 acre allotments. They had to sell or relinquish their land, and only ranching as an industry has survived in the vast expansiveness that is the prairie.
A Personal Vignette
On my last visit to the prairie, I followed a narrow spur that radiated out from Wagon Mound. A few miles from town, I passed a junk yard with wrecked cars and old farm equipment piled high.
Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw sheep and pigs and the dim outline of a man in a pickup truck. I parked my car and walked up to the vehicle. A weathered old man greeted me kindly. I thought he might be living in his truck since blankets were piled high in the front seat. He gave me permission to photograph the livestock.
My images of the sheep and pigs were not successful. However, I like the photograph I made of him. He stood proud, looking straight into the lens: a nice man caring for his or someone else’s livestock in a junk yard corral.
Please see the Anglo gallery in the New Mexico Mosaic portfolio of this webpage for more images.