White Oaks is not a typical ghost town
New Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS) board of director, Susan Gerke, wrote this quarter’s article on White Oaks. Gerke is a 12-year resident of White Oaks. David Mandel, a board member, prepared past previous quarterly newsletters. My column this week borrowed history nuggets from Gerke’s article, “White Oaks or Heart’s Desire.” As LCHS board member and history advocate, I am pleased that she joined LCHS.
Gerke explains that the definition of “ghost town, is a completely deserted place: no one living in houses, no taxes being paid, no one caring for property or animals. She tells in her article that this has never been true of White Oaks, a unique place rich with New Mexico history. There are stories of strength and perseverance, and currently populated today by those who love being surrounded by the lovely mountains that grace White Oaks.
Her LCHS newsletter article included some events after the turn of the century and stories relayed to Gerke by White Oaks resident Larue Wetzel 1925 – 2014. Wetzel was raised in the mining culture of White Oaks.
Wetzel tells that when she was three or four months old, her parents would take her along while they worked in the mine tunnels. Wetzel’s father, Allen A. Lane, was the general manager of the mines, a master mechanic, and a surveyor.
Lane’s father, Dr. Alexander Lane, was a hospital physician and surgeon officer in the Civil War. In White Oaks he was a dietician and doctor, using good food in curing illnesses. The doctor taught school in his home and raised funds to build the White Oaks schoolhouse, now a museum.
The Wildcat Leasing Company, composed of Ed Queen, George Queen, Allen Lane and David Jackson, operated the mines in White Oaks. They thought electrical power would be dependable and economical for them so they bought 160 acres of coal land in White Oaks Canyon and 40 acres with good spring water. In 1912 Lane engineered a power plant there. The power plant in White Oaks Canyon sent the first electricity to Carrizozo and then across to the mines around Nogal.
When the mines closed, business moved away, mainly to Carrizozo, a town born due to the railroad. Then World War II began and scrap metal in White Oaks was carried off. Many houses were sold for tearing down with lumber used to build homes on nearby ranches. Some houses left are cared for or lived in today. White Oaks never was completely deserted.
A few old buildings remain. The Ozanne Hotel annex still stands on Carrizo Street. Watson & Lund Law Offices is now called No Scum Allowed Saloon. The Gumm Brothers mansion overlooks the town site. Dr. Paden’s territorial home remains, and blacksmith Robert Taylor’s split log/adobe house.
The White Oak School was built in 1885. In 1948 the last students attended school there. The brick school museum is visited by hundreds from all over the world and is used for occasional community gatherings and special events. The Hoyle House mansion was placed on the National Register in 1969. Larue Wetzel later lived and raised her children in the house, which is still in the family.
Find information at: lincolncountyhistoricalsociety.vpweb.com. Learn about membership and to quench your history thirst reading web history articles and photographs from various parts of the county. Stop to visit LCHS headquarters at 406 Central (highway 54) in Carrizozo, where Carrizozo Public Library and Archives (CPL&A) shares their space with LCHS. Library hours and days are: Wednesday 2 - 7 pm; Friday and Saturday 10 am – 3 pm.