St. Catherine of Sienna church in Hachita. Photo by Phyllis Eileen Banks.
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A schoolhouse built in Hatchita, New Mexico, with WPA (Works Progress Administration) funds in the 1930s was overlooked in the Treasures of New Mexico Trails by Kathryn A. Flynn, a book on New Deal Art and Architecture. No doubt the reason is that it had been renovated and made into a church, obscuring the fact that it had been a school many years ago.
My husband and I were driving NM Highway 9 from El Paso to Rodeo early in March. When we came to Hachita, 45 miles west of Columbus, Hal, who is an incorrigible "wonder where that road goes," drove through the small village. In so doing, we discovered a most unique church, Saint Catherine of Sienna. It was locked, so we drove on and stopped at The Egg Nest for lunch. When we talked to the proprietor we asked about the church. He said, "If you want to see it, I have the key," then pointed out the copy of its history. Totally intrigued now, we borrowed the key and drove the few blocks back to the church.
Its history is a testament to one man’s promise to his mother on her death bed that he would build a church dedicated to her memory and her Saint, Catherine of Sienna. The history does not indicate whether or not he purchased the building and land, although that is the assumption since he was a successful business man. He considered the church to be his most important achievement.
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Desert outside Lordsburg. Photo by Carla DeMarco.
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The rugged Old West town known as Lordsburg is located in Southwest New Mexico’s bootheel by Interstate 10, 24 miles east of the Arizona border. The Lordsburg of today is a quiet community compared to its earlier shoot-em-up days. Life was lively and sometimes perilous around 1880 when the Santa Fe Railroad was constructed and Lordsburg was founded.
Before Lordsburg had a name, railroad freight handlers needed a way to label merchandise destined for the town. Most of Lordsburg’s freight was shipped by Dr. Charles H. Lord of Tucson, who owned the distribution company that served New Mexico. Soon, the tag “Lords” caught on and, before long, the town was known as Lordsburg.
Motel Drive was once part of the famous Butterfield Trail. It is said if you listen carefully, you can at times hear the hoof beats of the horses and shouts of the stage master as the spirit of the stagecoach still rumbles through town.
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