MARCH 2023 UPDATE: I am beyond thrilled to be able to make available here one of only two known firsthand descriptions of life in Ricardo, New Mexico. This account, spanning from 1908-1916, is contained within Zorene Thompson's wonderful memoir, "OUR LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE." In addition, there's an ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 5, which goes deeper into the story of Della Carley, who shot two people at the Ricardo post office in 1912. To download the PDF's, just right-click on the file names above and do the ol' "Save Link As..." trick. A big City of Dust thank you is due to Zorene Thompson's son, Ray Mack Thompson, for assembling his mother's rare story and making it available to all, a true labor of love! Thanks also to Jacalyn Carley, the granddaughter of Della Carley, for generously providing a chapter from her own family's history in Ricardo!
Ricardo, New Mexico, is yet another of the many towns that came to life seemingly overnight as the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (AT&SF RR) built the Belen Cut-off through the east-central part of the state. Located in De Baca County, a few miles south of Highway 60, the recorded history of Ricardo appears to be scant at best. The village’s name is thought to have been that of a railroad official, and Ricardo, right along the tracks, was an AT&SF RR section house and water station.
Sadly, on the night of May 6, 1908, a massive fire started in the large Grosh and Strayhorn store, spreading to the Ricardo Hotel, the barbershop, and most of the town. The Santa Fe New Mexican said that Ricardo was "reduced to ashes." However, rebuilding commenced, and the post office opened the same year, doing business until 1956, after which point the mail went to Fort Sumner. There was also a schoolhouse, which I’ve been told was comparable in size to the First Presbyterian Church of Taiban. In the late-1950s, the school was purchased and hauled away so the lumber could be reused. A vintage photo of the train depot would seem to indicate that Ricardo at one point had "the one and ONLY flower garden" in De Baca County.
While virtually none of Ricardo is as it was (the post office became part of a ranch home; a general store collapsed), one gem does persist—at least for now—and that is a wonderful and spacious two-story rock and plaster structure, which may have been contructed in 1908 as a tuberculosis sanatorium that never held any patients.
In the late 1920s, it's said that locomotive firemen who provided assistance shoveling coal to get freight trains up the long hill to Vaughn were briefly stationed here. It was headquarters to the adjacent ranch, as well. A later renovation for a family home was found to be impossible and now it is quite near collapse. However, having become the lone sentinel over this small part of the eastern plains, much of its old charm and majesty somehow remains. It’s not hard to imagine a family tending the stone walkway, or perhaps lounging on the porch of a fine spring morning, the wildflowers blooming way-off into the distance. If you’re quiet, beneath the prairie wind you can almost hear boots slowly climbing the shattered wooden stairs.
You don’t have to be quiet to hear cows though, a couple dozen of which may be quite excited to see you until they learn you have no food. Then they just seem vaguely hostile. I assume the concrete structure below was once used to water such cattle, but I’m not certain. Perhaps someone can provide some insight.
I should also mention that not only is Ricardo remote, it's on private ranchland. At one time I thought it might've been owned by the railroad, but that's not the case. So unless you have an invitation and a way with cows, it is best not to just show up on the porch of the last house in Ricardo.
And that's all I know about the ghost town of Ricardo. I would love to hear more from anyone that might have something to tell, so please leave a comment if you do. For now, “The Place Names of New Mexico” has the most to say, and I picked up a bit more info from some knowledgeable viewers of the City of Dust Facebook page. The short news piece, "Fire Wipes Out Ricardo," was published by the Sante Fe New Mexican on May 8, 1908. I got the vintage photo from NM ghost town photographer Beata Certo, but no one knows the original source. Anyway, thanks, folks!
Next time I believe we’ll visit Contreras, down in Socorro County.
