Cooney, New Mexico facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cooney, New Mexico
|
|
|---|---|
 Cooney, New Mexico
Location in New Mexico
Cooney, New Mexico
Location in the United States
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Catron |
| Population
(2000)
|
|
| • Total | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT |
| Area code(s) | 575 |
Cooney is what people call a ghost town in New Mexico. It's located in Catron County, not far from a town called Alma. Long ago, Cooney was a busy place where people looked for gold and silver in the nearby Mogollon Mountains.
The Story of Cooney
In the 1870s, a soldier named Sergeant James C. Cooney was stationed at Fort Bayard. He discovered a rich vein of gold in the Gila Mountains. This discovery led to the opening of several mines in the area. Soon, new towns like Mogollon, Alma, and Glenwood began to grow.
Sadly, some people from Cooney, including James Cooney himself, lost their lives during a conflict known as the Alma Massacre. Later, in 1911, a big flood swept through the area. The flood washed away the town of Cooney, turning it into the ghost town it is today.
Cooney Cemetery: A Special Burial Place
Cooney Cemetery is a small graveyard located near where the town of Cooney used to be. It's in an isolated spot east of Alma, New Mexico. You can find it in the southern part of Catron County, about seven miles east of Alma on County Road 7.
This cemetery has a very unique story. It was created when James Cooney's brother, Captain Mike Cooney, and his friends carved a special sepulcher (a small tomb) out of a rock. They did this in the canyon where James Cooney was killed. They buried him there and sealed his tomb with silver-bearing ore from the mine he had discovered. Behind this special tomb, there's a main part of the cemetery where seven other people are buried.
