Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Years ago a book called “Ghost Towns and How to Get to Them” listed eight ghost towns in Curry County. Don’t blame it on the Chamber of Commerce.
Curry County had no Hispanic settlements or mining towns.
1. Contara — The word means “pitcher” in Spanish. This so called ghost town was located 30 miles west of Clovis on the Santa Fe Railroad. Only stock pens and a railroad switch and a post office there from 1908 to 1912. No ghost town.
2. Claud — About 12 miles or so north of Clovis. It was named for Claud V. Kelley who in 1909 owned a mercantile store there. He was the postmaster in that store from 1909 to 1920. I happened to grow up at Claud, and I never saw any ghosts. No town.
3. Haag — No town here either, just another post office run by Horace F. Haag from 1909 to 1912, about 13 miles north of Clovis.
4. Havener — That name didn’t last very long, and it became Grier. Called Havener from 1910 to 1921 and remained there as a post office until 1956. A couple families lived there, but no ghosts.
5. Langton — originally was in Roosevelt County and was named for Joe Lang, an early sheriff of that county. It was a post office from 1904 to 1930. The site became part of Curry County in 1909. No ghosts, no town.
6. Logansville — It was first named Preston, then Logansville, for the first postmaster John W. Logan. 1907-1914. (Some called it Legansville.)
About this time, the first school was to be built in Logansville, and the community got in a fuss over the location. It was decided to move the school to a location two miles south of the present town of Bellview, and was called Liberty Bell. In 1918 the school was moved to the original town site and the name changed to Bellview, which it is still called today (if you can find it). L. V. Ray and Glen Turner were the first settlers there and established ranches in the area in 1905. If any ghosts were there, the ranchers chased them off with a bull whip.
7. Pritchard — In 1907-08 Pritchard was a post office northeast of Clovis and mail was delivered out of Texico by a Star Route carrier. No ghosts, no town.
8. Tracy — Northwest of Clovis, a post office from 1910 to 1912. No ghosts, no town.
Now we can forget about ghost towns in Curry County.
Don McAlavy is Curry County’s historian. He can be contacted at:
