Saturday, November 4, 2006

Relatos del Pasado

From flood to freeze A look at some weather history

By Paul Harden

Some of the Socorro County floods, caused by the river, were presented in the September 2006 "Relatos del Pasado." However, Socorro County has been heavily damaged from not only too much, but too little rain as well.

Socorro's Perfect Storm

The editor of the Socorro Chieftain once wrote: "On Tuesday afternoon, July 30 (1895), Socorro was visited by the greatest flood ever known in the history of the city since the time of the first settlement here." Even for a journalist, that's a fairly bold statement to make. However, in the 111 years since, he might have been right.

The story from the Aug. 2, 1895, Socorro Chieftain is given below in its entirety.

"In the early part of the afternoon there was a heavy rain from the east with the cloud passing to the west. This was met by a cloud from the west about eight miles away. As described by Juan Jose Baca, who had just started to return home from the ranch and was near the place of meeting of the two storms, the sight was awe inspiring and terrific as the two clouds met and seemingly shot down to earth.

"The downpour of water must have been simply enormous for soon the rumble and roar of the arroyo could be heard from the city. Yet little attention was paid to it except by a few, as this arroyo has been coming down so often of late, and there were not many who took any measures for safety until the flood was nearly or quite upon them.

"By the time the torrent reached the city the roar of the rushing waters was almost deafening. As it came rolling and tumbling down the arroyo in one mighty wave twenty feet in height the banks could not contain it and it broke over the town from all sides. In a few minutes there came a second wave which increased the rush of water to a perfect torrent, and it rushed down the streets and through houses in a seething mass.

"The raging waters whirled and tumbled down from various points in an indescribable flood from the upper part of town and all kinds of furniture, baby wagons, trunks, stoves, sewing machines, harnesses, wagons, and parts of buildings came rolling and swirling down the current. This water fast flooded the low lands from the Windsor Hotel (near present day Val Verde Hotel) to the train depot it stood at a depth of four feet and all the houses in that part of town were inundated and many people had great trouble in getting out.

"The main arroyo (where Spring Street is today) was a sight to see, with all kinds of floating debris even to portions of railroad bridges with the iron still on them tumbling end over end through the seething and surging mass of waters.

"In attempting to escape from their house the family of Stanacio Duran and his father were caught in the rushing waters and the old gentleman and five children were swept away. The bodies were recovered one by one, the last being brought in the next morning. Besides these a small child of Elias Baca and another of Mr. Garcia died Wednesday from the effects of being thrown in the water and half drowned.

"The house of J. H. Hilton (near the present day Socorro Police Department building) was in the midst of a raging torrent and a portion of it was washed away while the family was still in the house. Mr. Hilton had carried one of the children out and on returning could only get to the barn when he was swept off his feet and only saved himself by climbing to the gate. In the meantime help had arrived and Andy Wickham (who lived across the street from Casa de Fletcha) with commendable bravery had struggled across the current with a rope and the aid of a pitchfork with which he steadied himself. With the aid of C. T. Brown and others the imprisoned woman and children were rescued from the perilous position.

"It is impossible to estimate the money value of the property destroyed with any degree of accuracy, as the loss to any one individual will not reach very high figures, but it is widely scattered over the entire city. There was also considerable damage done to the growing crops on the bottoms below town with something of a loss of livestock. A conservative estimate of the loss to both the railroad company and to individuals will probably be about $150,000 to $200,000.

"Over a hundred houses are either washed away or partly down with loss of furniture so as to be a complete loss. Besides this there are doubtless as many as a hundred and fifty or two hundred more houses that are so badly damaged as to be unsafe for occupancy, with numerous others that some part of the buildings are in bad condition but the amount of the loss will not be determined until repairs are effected.

"A relief committee was formed and by the next day its chairman informed us that sufficient clothing had been collected for all now in need of it and that a considerable sum of money and many provisions had been subscribed for all temporary needs."

As related above, Mr. Hilton was saved by Mr. Andy Wickham, whose daughter Joanna, later known as Mrs. Tinguely, recalled the 1895 storm in her later years. She described the Wickham house as being located about where the old Junior High School stood on Park Street, south of the Baptist Church, and the Hilton home further east. The main arroyo through town, which caused all the damage, was about where Spring Street now runs.

In a 1950s interview published by the Socorro County Historical Society, Mrs. Tinguely described the flood as follows: "Mrs. Armijo, who lived in the big brick house with the tower across the street (Monette's Casa de Fletcha), was on her porch and kept calling to the Wickhams to come over there. ... At first Mrs. Wickham was loth (sic) to go out, but finally she and the children, including Joe Hilton, went out at the north door. When they reached Armijo's, the little sister was not among them. She had wandered by herself down to the corner of the plaza ... where her brother Andy saw her and brought her back. When Mrs. Wickham saw them coming, she fainted.

"While the Wickhams and the Armijos watched the water rolling down the arroyo, they watched all manner of things pass: animals, wagons, furniture and, the pitiful sight of all, a cradle with a baby's hand sticking out of the water above it."

Mrs. Tinguely said the flood was caused by a cloudburst behind Socorro Mountain, caused by the collision of two storms in July of 1895, although no rain fell at all in town. There was much damage to the west of town as well, including destruction of the road to Magdalena through Blue Canyon and washing out the railroad tracks.

The Aug. 23, 1895, Socorro Chieftain reported, "The trains over the Magdalena branch began running this morning for the first time since the flood."

From the damage reported, this may very well have been the worst storm to hit Socorro.

Mogollon

In 1889, silver was discovered in the rugged mountains south of Reserve. In no time, the small Silver Creek mining camp grew into a bustling town and was renamed Mogollon. The town has been plagued with floods ever since due to it being poorly situated on the bottom of a narrow canyon.

In the spring of 1894, melting snows and rain roared down the canyon and nearly inundated the new town. Two saw mills were erected and the town of Mogollon was quickly rebuilt, only to burn to the ground later that year. Undaunted, the people of Mogollon again rebuilt the town. It would not be the last time.

A letter in the Aug. 7, 1896, Socorro Chieftain described Socorro County's newest town: "New buildings are going up and the camp's future has never been brighter. We have three hotels, three general stores, seven saloons, a butcher shop, bakery and confectionery, three barber shops, blacksmith and wagon shop and other small businesses. We have daily mail via Silver City which we hope soon to see via Socorro."

On Aug. 21, only two weeks after the above letter was printed, a tremendous thunderstorm rolled over the mountains and dumped heavy monsoon rains into the narrow canyon. The Socorro Chieftain printed the first word of the disaster: "There was a cloud burst at the lower end of Silver Creek, in the Mogollon mining district. Sixteen houses were washed away and seven or eight lives lost. It is the presumption that the cloud burst struct (sic) the hill below the Maud D. mill and those who resided in the narrow gorge immediately below were swept away."

The editor apologized by stating: "Owing to the fact that the (telegraph) wires are all down it is impossible to procure definite news of the catastrophe at this hour."

However, news must have arrived somehow, for at the bottom of the front page, a news update was added just before press time as follows: "It seems that the damage done was worse than above reported. It is now thought that there are all the way from nine to twenty lives lost. The wagon road is completely washed out and Graham and Mogollon are cut off from the world except by a rough burro trail over the mountains (to Silver City). About 100 families are homeless and some thirty houses washed away."

Many of the miner's homes were hastily built wooden shacks lining the canyon leading to the Maud D., Last Chance and Little Fanny mines. The storm of 1896, and many that followed, formed a wall of water six to 12 feet high, which took with it all the houses and shacks built along the canyon floor. And those people caught by surprise were violently swept away by the rushing waters.

It is not known how many people perished in the 1896 storm. It was later reported that 20 bodies were recovered down the canyon and several dozen people were still missing. It is not known if the missing also perished or merely left Mogollon for good.

Following the deadly 1896 storm, the buildings in Mogollon were rebuilt with brick and stone, most of which have survived to this day. However, due to the town's location at the bottom of a gorge, it is plagued with nearly annual floods due to the spring runoff from melting mountain snows, and again during the summer monsoon rains. Two additional deadly flash floods occurred in 1899 and 1914. More recently, several days of rains in 1982 destroyed the highway from Reserve to Glenwood. It took more than a year to repair the highway and the historic Cat Walk.

In addition to the damaging floods, Mogollon has also been destroyed by fires in 1894, 1904, 1910, 1915 and 1942. The Little Fannie mine was the last to close in 1950, after many years of producing more than $1.5 million per year in silver.

In spite of snows, floods, fires, mining accidents and depleted ore shafts, Mogollon remains a town that has refused to die. Today, about two dozen people still live in Mogollon. It is considered one of New Mexico's best ghost towns and well worth the visit if you've never been there. The road from Glenwood to Mogollon is often closed during winter months.

Not all severe weather in Socorro County is caused by snows or rains. The lack of it can be just as destructive.

The Grapes of Wrath

The Great Depression still had a hold on the country, and John Steinbeck wrote a novel about an Oklahoma family of sharecroppers who were destroyed by the drought of the 1930s. In 1940 his book, "The Grapes of Wrath," was made into a movie starring a young Henry Fonda. Both the book and the movie remains epic classics portraying the hopeless situation many American farmers and ranchers found themselves in during the Great Depression and the "Dust Bowl" years.

"The Grapes of Wrath" is a chronicle of sorts of thousands of families who became destitute during these years due to the loss of their homes, land and livelihood. One might wonder if such conditions existed here at home. The answer is a resounding "yes."

New Mexico, and Socorro County, was hit hard by the Depression and 10 years of drought. Months without rain, along with heavy spring and summer winds, caused massive dust storms, stripped the land of topsoil and seed — hence, the genesis of the name "Dust Bowl."

Searching the archive copies of the Socorro Chieftain during the 1930s paints a fairly grim picture of life in and around Socorro. The onset of the Great Depression, following the stock market crash in October 1929, severely depressed the U.S. economy. Locally, the AT&SF railroad and others laid off many workers, and the sale price of beef hit record lows.

Throughout much of the West, the 1930s brought record droughts and unusually hot weather. The table with this article shows the summer temperatures in Socorro in the 100s, with October and November still in the 80s.

With such conditions, many area farmers had not had a successful crop in two or three years. Just as in many other hard-hit areas, Socorro farmers found themselves flat broke, unable to make their land payments or pay property taxes. Soon, land was being repossessed, which forced many people to become homeless and destitute — just as in "The Grapes of Wrath."

The only thing that saved many in Socorro County were those families whose ancestors were the colonial or territorial settlers of the region. For these, their land was paid for and couldn't be taken away. Still, many were at risk for their inability to pay taxes and assessments. Proposals were made in Santa Fe to extend tax payments to subsistence farmers to no avail. Socorro County tried giving landowners a two-year extension to pay property taxes, but it was overruled by Santa Fe. Finally, in December 1937, the Legislature passed a one-year moratorium on paying property taxes. Most New Mexicans, looking at their barren fields, felt it was too little, too late.

To make matters worse, Texas sued New Mexico for more Rio Grande water. This legal maneuver went unsolved in the courts for years. A federal judge placed strong limits on the amount of irrigation water that could be used until the suit was settled, which turned off the water tap to more farmers along the Rio Grande. Many blamed the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District for taking such a passive role in the proceedings. Several rallies were held in Socorro calling for the disbanding the MRGCD and triggered fights between them and the Bureau of Reclamation as to just who managed the river. In hindsight, the whole affair seemed rather mute since there was so little water to fight over.

In spite of virtually no rain or irrigation water for the fields, and a loss of thousands of acres of local crops, Socorroans seem to keep their humor. One advertisement in the Socorro Chieftain read "Relieve the warm brand of weather with a Root Beer Float or thick, rich ice cream Soda's at Petty's Confectionery." Petty's was located in what is now the west end of Gambles Hardware Store on Manzanares Street.

The only relief seemed to be a heavy snowstorm in December 1937. Several inches of snow fell in Socorro, while more than 2 feet of snow buried Magdalena.

The Socorro Chieftain reported: "The heavy snow storm over the region brings much needed moisture, although it has left the road to Magdalena in an icy and dangerous condition. A week after the storm, snow is still on the ground, covered by a lighter fresh snow Monday morning (Dec. 20)."

The official snowfall in Socorro was recorded at 5 inches. Many thought the drought was coming to an end. However, this was not to be.

In the Jan. 20, 1938, Socorro Chieftain, the following grim report appeared: "The ominous specter of dust storms is again hanging heavily over the Midwest and Southwest, with fear intensified in many sections by the below normal precipitation that perhaps presages another drought year. To water users of the MRGCD the announcement that precipitation at the headwaters of the streams supplying the water necessary for irrigation is far below normal adds a gloomy note to the already dark outlook for farmers of this district."

According to the National Climatic Data Center, the drought in New Mexico lasted from 1931-1941, coinciding exactly with the duration of the Great Depression. It was a double-whammy for the state, and Socorro.

The Dust Bowl years of 1935-1937 had the highest mean annual temperatures ever recorded, until just recently. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration declared the years 1998 and 2006 the hottest years on record. It was the 1935-1937 records that were finally broken. Global warming, or a 70-year cycle?

Socorro Weather

Weather records for Socorro go back to 1884 with the arrival of the railroad. No, the railroad did not bring weather to Socorro, but it did bring the first official weather station. Weather was recorded hourly by the AT&SF stationmaster at the Socorro train station for more than 60 years.

Additionally, it was reported by the telegraph operators to inform the other stations up and down the line of severe weather. The AT&SF Railroad maintained the local weather records until 1946, when the job was transferred to the airport and New Mexico Tech.

Today, with the Internet, there are several personal weather stations in Socorro online at www.wunderground.com. Enter Socorro's ZIP code and click on the "Personal Weather Stations" to view some of them providing real-time local weather.

Climate, on the other hand, is the long term-trend in the weather, averaged over 30-year and 100-year periods. For Socorro, our annual rainfall has averaged 9.54 inches over the past 100 years, and 10.22 over the past 30 years, indicating our rainfall this year (12-16 inches to date, depending on location) is well above average. According to the National Climatic Data Center, Socorro's mean temperature this September was only 62 degrees, or 2.8 degrees below normal, making it the fourth coldest September in 112 years.

The mean temperature for Socorro, according to the NCDC, is 57.1 degrees over the past 100 years. The mean temperature is calculated by averaging the daily low and high temperatures over the entire year.

The first freeze of the year generally occurs around Oct. 19-23, and the last freeze around April 27. However, the first freeze has occurred as early as Oct. 7, and the last frost as late as May 12.

The coldest temperature ever recorded in Socorro was 13 below zero in 1974. However, many Socorroans remember the winter of 1976, with several nights in a row of the mercury dipping to 12 below zero. Most years, the winter temperatures seldom fall below 20 degrees.

Socorro's hottest temperature recorded is 109 degrees, which has occurred on several occasions since records have been kept, the latest in 1994.

Weather will always be a favorite conversation topic with Socorroans, even though we seldom get any real weather.

However, over the centuries we've proven "when it rains, it pours." Flooding from the Rio Grande or heavy rains has been the most destructive force in Socorro's history. Droughts are a close second.

And, let us not forget the October 2006 hailstorm of the century.

Next month — the Socorro County Small Pox epidemic.

Some of the references used in this article: Socorro El Defensor Chieftain archives; National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration records; National Climatic Data Center records; Socorro County Historical Society, "Publications in History, Volume I."

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