STEINS, NM

STEINS, NM

St-EYE-nz, or St-EE-nz? There seems to be controversy over the pronunciation of the name of Steins,

New Mexico, a tiny, privately-owned, railroad ghost town in the southwestern corner of the state. It was named after Enoch Steins, a US Cavalry officer who was killed in a clash with Apaches in 1873.

So, what’s the story behind the ghost town snuggled up to the north side of I-10 at EXIT #3? This spot of desert is just east of the state line and 19 miles southwest of Lordsburg, and is readily accessible to all types of vehicles.

Park at the general store and wander around the open area and soak up the ambiance of the place. Then step into the past by visiting the funky old Steins Mercantile general store and pay the minimal fee for a guided tour of the part of town behind the fence. You’ll be glad you did!

As already mentioned, the town was named after a US Army Cavalry officer, Enoch Steins when the tiny railroad station was established here in the 1880s. However, the story of Steins is more than that. It began as a stage station in 1857, when the Birch Stage Line, passed over a natural pass through the mountains near here. The stage line was replaced by the Butterfield Overland Stage Company the following year.

The army visited the area in 1873, the resulting conflict with the Apaches causing the death of Captain Steins. The Doubtful Canyon area was renamed Steins Pass to honor him. Sometime between 1873 and 1888 gold and silver were discovered in the Peloncillo Mountains, north of present-day Steins. A number of mining camps popped up, including one named Doubtful Canyon, which received a post office in 1888.

South of the Peloncillo Range, a long flat grade dropping into Lordsburg to the east and Arizona to the west, providing a natural location for a railroad to pass through. In the 1880s, the Southern Pacific Railroad took advantage of the location, running tracks, then building a water tower, coaling station and work camp named Steins Pass. Wagons roads connected the station to the mining camps off to the north.

The railroad station only had 35 registered voters in 1902, but, it did brag of a schoolhouse. Shortly before 1905, the Southern Pacific relocated their Steins Pass Station a couple miles east, renaming it Steins. It quickly grew into a small town when the Doubtful Canyon Post Office was transferred to the new station, and the town soon had 100 folks, a general store, restaurant and saloon.

It grew slowly, in 1919 claiming a population varying between 200 and 1300 depending on the source. In any case, Steins was a busy little railroad town, whose businesses included a boarding house, two bordellos, a dance hall, a general store, hotel, railroad section house and station, as well as three saloons.

In 1944, the post office closed and the town faded. By 1955, with the demise of coal-powered trains, Steins passed into the recesses of history when its railroad station closed. Since Steins sat near the summit of a usable pass, its position was important enough that when Interstate 10 replaced US 80, that new highway was built literally along the southern edge of the old town, with an offramp coming down into the town. It is one of the few ghost towns with its own Interstate exit!

Steins today is a very intriguing collection of ruins and restored buildings. Despite the wire fencing erected to keep most of the town intact, it is a great place to stop and visit for a while. The aforementioned tour takes you behind the fence, and you get to follow the guide on an unhurried tour of ten or so structures, all filled with relics and memorabilia of the past. Old bottles, tools, clothing, furniture and all sorts of neat doodads, gewgaws and whatchamacallits flap in the wind, sit on shelves or line the walls of old buildings that meet no known building codes. This is a living history museum, lovingly cared for by Larry and Linda Link.

This was our GHOST TOWN OF THE MONTH for November, 2004.

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FIRST POSTED: November 04, 2004

LAST UPDATED: March 20, 2005

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