Riley Schoolhouse - New Mexico Ghost Town
by Susan Rissi Tregoning
Title
Riley Schoolhouse - New Mexico Ghost Town
Artist
Susan Rissi Tregoning
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
What remains of the charming little stone schoolhouse in the ghost town of Riley, New Mexico.
Henry C Trost of Trost & Trost architecture firm out of El Paso designed and built the school in 1922. Although the remote town of Riley, New Mexico, no longer existed after 1931, the school remained open until 1953, when the Rural School Administration was abolished.
When the town of Riley was first settled in 1880, it was called Santa Rita. Originally a colony of Mexican- American homesteaded farms, the town was granted a post office in 1890 and renamed Riley after a local sheep rancher. In 1897, after discovering coal and manganese deposits, Riley grew to around 150 people. It had four mines, two stores, a school, and a church. Unfortunately, the mines eventually mined out. Then a drought and overgrazing made it next to impossible to farm the land. Finally, after 41 years, the post office closed in 1931, ending the town of Riley.
Today Riley is a ghost town. Not much is left but the shell of the old school, some adobe ruins, and the beautifully restored Santa Rita Church and cemetery.
Copyright 2022 Susan Rissi Tregoning
Uploaded
March 4th, 2022
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