A few years after the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad completed their transcontinental tracks through Gallup, coal was discovered in the hills around the growing community. With more than a dozen coal mining camps nestled in the hills and canyons around town, Gallup became known as “Carbon City.” These days, most of those settlements have been consumed by sand and sagebrush, with little left other than mounds of tailings and an abundance of broken glass. Many of the salvageable structures, and materials, were moved to other camps or repurposed for new construction in Gallup.

Clarkville was reportedly a pretty little place with comfortably-built houses. Among the town’s features were a two-story brick commissary, a school building, a library, and a hospital. At the time, the town claimed that it possessed so many favorable characteristics that the miner and everyone living there was happy and contented. Unique for these mining camps was the fact that Clarkville never had a saloon and also prohibited the sale of liquor on its premises.

The combination of mining interests and railroad access attracted wealthy investors from the east coast, as well as diverse waves of Mexican, European, and Asian immigrants looking for work in the mines. The combination of cultures, and profound economic disparity between the owner class and working class, created conflict within the growing community. On several occasions, the investors behind the mines and the railroad provoked infighting between groups within the community to prevent unionization and cooperative action.

Camp Heaton was located in Heaton Canyon, about 3 miles northeast of Gallup. The camp was founded in the early 1900s and was abandoned when the mine closed. The buildings were moved to another coal mining camp in Gamerco.

Navajo camp was a mile east of Gamerco. The coal company supplied small frame houses to the residents, with a company owned store and hotel. However, like Heaton, the coal company shifted focus to the Gamerco mines, moving all structures and resources to the new camp.

Gamerco was built to support the coal mines, with more resources compared to other camps. The company town had a meat market, golf course, clubhouse, a shower house for miners, tennis courts, swimming pool and a baseball park.

Mentmore was established in 1913 when the Dilco Coal Mine was opened. It was very much a company town, with a company store, post office, school, and power plant. Employees living in company provided frame houses. When the mines closed in 1952, most of the businesses in town closed and the population plummeted.

Allison was located on a coal belt northwest of Gallup. At its peak, there were over 500 people living in Allison.

Clarkville was an important lignite coal mining camp, with a school, library, hospital, and electric plant. Compared to the other mining camps, Clarkville was more family-friendly, with no saloon. In fact, they prohibited the sale of liquor in Clarkville. The community peaked in 1905, with about 400 inhabitants. Two years later the town was half that size. It has been a ghost town since 1910.

If you would like more information about Gallup’s coal mining history, check out the Rex Museum on Main Street. Their exhibits honor Gallup’s mining history, as well as the original mining families.