User:Asiaticus/sandbox/Val Verde, New Mexico

Val Verde, (Green Valley in Spanish), is a former populated place, a ghost town, that was located along the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, on the east bank of the Rio Grande, at a ford, in what is now Socorro County, New Mexico. The settlement gave its name to the nearby Battle of Valverde that was fought east of that ford in 1862, during the American Civil War.

History

Paraje Val Verde

Val Verde, was located nearby to the east of the site of a ford that has been a major crossing point on the Rio Grande for hundreds of years, despite the various changes in the course of the river over that time. This paraje was first called Paraje el Contadero during the seventeenth century and afterward for the reason that as the port of entry and exit from the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México. There livestock particularly sheep were gathered and counted for their drive south with the annual caravan for sale in Mexico. Those animals coming into the province were counted to determine the losses of the journey and for assessment of any taxes to be levied. The narrow trail through the paraje around the Mesa made it ideal for making such counts. By the late eighteenth century the paraje on the north side of the mesa near the crossing was being refered to as Paraje Val Verde. Regardless of its name it long afterward remained a stop and resting place for those who crossed the river along El Camino Real above the Mesa del Contadero and were about to march southward through the Jornada del Muerto or for those who had come through the Jornada from the south and needed to recover from the ordeal.

Armendáriz Grant and Hacienda

Val Verde, remained a natural paraje for travelers along the El Camino Real as well as the site of the hacienda of the Armendáriz Grant in the early to mid 1820's before it was abandoned due to the attacks of the Apache and Navajo.

Val Verde Hacienda

Pedro Armendaris Grant

The Pedro Armendaris Grant Number 33

The Pedro Armendaris Grant Number 34

The Pedro Armendariz Land Grant Originally published in El Defensor Chieftain newspaper, Saturday, May 2, 2009By Paul Harden, na5n@zianet.comFor El Defensor Chieftain

Val Verde

Val Verde was also the site of a village, founded in the later nineteenth-century, following the establishment of Fort Conrad and Fort Craig It lay south of the ruins of the Armendáriz hacienda, and most famously, the location gave its name to an 1862 Civil War battle, known as the Battle of Valverde.

References

Socorro County, New Mexico}}

Category:Geography of Socorro County, New Mexico]]
Category:Former populated places in New Mexico]]
Category:Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]]
Category:Jornada del Muerto]]

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• Lava Gate 890985|Lava Gate|Area|NM|35|Socorro|053|332924N|1070348W|33.4900699|-107.0633628|||||1394|4573|Lava|11/13/1980|

• 932213|Valverde Battlefield Historical Marker|Park|NM|35|Socorro|053|335334N|1065228W|33.8928438|-106.8744701|||||1390|4560|San Antonio|05/01/1994|

• 923712|Val Verde|Populated Place|NM|35|Socorro|053|334211N|1065551W|33.7031223|-106.9308613|||||1366|4482|San Marcial|11/13/1980|

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• • U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Val Verde Elevation: 4482/1366 El Paraje de Balberde, Valverde, 33°42′11″N 106°55′51″W

• • U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Valverde Battlefield Historical Marker Historical marker located, on interstate 25, 10mi south of Socorro, 33°53′34″N 106°52′28″W

• • Valverde from newmexicohistory.org accessed January 9, 2017.

Otermín described camping at a point that he called El Contadero. It was on the banks of the river across from the ruins of the pueblo of Senecú (Hackett and Shelby 1942:II.203). That description better fits later descriptions of Valverde and the location of the ruins of the hacienda and town of that name, than do later depictions of El Contadero showing it south of Black Mesa and away from the river. The 1773 map by Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco showed an unnamed paraje north of “Mesa de Senecú” which would have been Valverde (Adams and Chávez 1956:268; Marshall and Walt 1984:286)

On 20 November 1780 Anza left the spring of the Apaches, or the “Apache Wood,” and traveled four leagues to Valverde, where he noted the tracks of many horses and people crossing the river. His party rested there the next day before going on five leagues to Fray Cristóbal (Thomas 1932:198). During the nineteenth century Valverde was often noted as the site of a good ford. The paraje of Valverde next appeared in 1805 in a report on vaccinations (Marshall and Walt 1984:286).

The 1819 description of the Valverde Grant noted that it began at the “Ancon de Valverde” on the east bank of the Río Grande, opposite the mouth of the Arroyo de San Pasqual (Bowden 1969:II, 163). There is now a bend in the river adjacent to the Valverde town site and across from the mouth of Tiffany Canyon. Tiffany Arroyo, a name whose origin is in the twentieth century, is across from and slightly south of the ruin of San Pasqual. In 1832, Valverde was described as the ruins of a hacienda on the outskirts of the settlements of New Mexico at the edge of the desert of the Jornada del Muerto (Carroll and Haggard 1942:78-80; Julyan 1996:353).

In 1839, Gregg observed the ruins of Valverde and wrote that it had been founded only 20 years earlier, in some of the richest land in New Mexico, and was deserted due to Indian attacks (Gregg 1933:258). On 30 July 1846, Wislizenus wrote of passing the “ruins of Valverde,” which he described as “the mud walls of a deserted Mexican village,” in an area of sand hills and cottonwood trees within twelve miles to the 164 south of Luis López’s hacienda (Wislizenus 1848:37).

In 1846, Abert identified the river crossing at Valverde and recommended that southbound wagons be taken to the west bank of the Río Grande at Alburquerque and back to the east side at this ford. Abert mentioned and sketched the Mesa overlooking the ruins of Valverde and placed it 15 miles from Fray Cristóbal (Abert 1962:120,125-133). Gibson described his camp near the ruins of Valverde in 1846. It was in a grove of trees near the base of Black Mesa and bore traces of earlier campers. When his unit left Valverde it went six miles around the east side of the mesa to a camp on the south side (Bieber 1935:293-294). Depictions of the Civil War Battle of Valverde confirm that the entire battle took place in the shadow of the Mesa del Contadero (Alberts 1984:42;Hall 1960:84,97).

The paraje north of Mesa de Contadero variously called Contadero or Valverde probably spread along the riverbank and filled the space between the river sand the edge of the hills. Accounts of the Battle of Valverde also include an old riverbed on the east side of the valley but still in its bottom (Alberts 1984:42,46; Hall 1960:84,97). Depending upon the age of that bed, or the possibility that the river bed has changed regularly over the last several centuries, it could be that the segment of the paraje which experienced the heaviest use is much closer to the hills than to the existing river bed.

Latitude: 3342

Longitude: 10670

• Pedro Armendaris Grant by J. J. Bowden]

On November 22, 1819, Pedro Ascue de Armendaris, the then Collector of Tithes and formerly First Lieutenant of the Garrison of San Elizario, petitioned the Governor of New Mexico for a grant covering a tract of land at Valverde for the purpose of cultivation and as a pasturage for his livestock. The tract Armendaris requested was described as follows:

Beginning at a point on the east bank of the Rio Grande del Norte in the Ancon de Valverde and opposite the point where the Arrayo de San Pascual empties in the river; thence southward down the east bank of the river to a peak or knoll located on the southern edge of the Mesilla del Contadero which is the boundary or terminus of the Valverde Valley and which is at the Fray Cristobal Paraje; thence in a southeasterly direction to the little spring called Analla; thence in a northerly direction to a small isolated hill near the Little San Pascual Mountain; and thence in a northwesterly direction to the place of beginning.

Armendaris was careful to point out that the tract was located on the Camino Real approximately nine leagues south of Socorro and that a new settlement at Valverde would be very beneficial to travelers. Governor Facundo Melgares referred the petition to the Alcalde of Belen with instructions to investigate the request. Alcalde Manuel Ruvo de Celis reported on November 28, 1819, that the land in question was vacant and rec­ommended that the concession be made. Based on this favorable report, Melgares granted the land to Armendaris on December 4, 1819, in consideration of the benefit which would result to the province. However, the grant was made subject to the express conditions that Armendaris promptly commence constructing houses and corrals on the grant, enclosing of the fields and stocking the pastures; keeping all his men well armed; and furnishing water and pasturage free to all travelers and their animals. This tract became known as the Valverde Grant.

Shortly thereafter, Armendaris took possession of the Valverde Grant and built a large hacienda and a number of out buildings and corrals at Valverde. However, there is no evidence that Armendaris had ever been placed in legal possession of the grant. The tillable lands in the Valley were placed under cultivation, and the hills or pasture lands were stocked with a large number of sheep, cattle, and horses. Armendaris’ farming and ranching enterprises proved so successful that on May 15, 1820, he petitioned Governor Melgares for an additional grant covering the lands lying south of the Valverde Grant in order to further expand his operations. He described the requested lands as follows:

Beginning at a peak or knoll on the east bank of the Rio Grande on the southern edge of the Mesilla del Contadero and which is at the Fray Cristobal Paraje; thence in a southerly direction along the east bank of the Rio Grande to the point where the Fray Cristobal Peak strikes the river; thence in a straight line south over the summit of the mountains to a point two leagues north of Ojo del Muerto; thence west two leagues; thence south four leagues; thence east four leagues; thence in a northeasterly direction to a point two leagues due south of Analla Springs; thence east three leagues; thence northwesterly to a small isolated hill near the Little San Pascual Mountain; thence south to Analla Springs; and thence in a northwesterly direction to the place of beginning.

Armendaris called the Governor’s attention to the fact that the lands covered by this request were primarily wastelands located in the Jornada del Muerto and, with the exception of Ojo del Muerto and Analla Springs, were completely waterless. He also pointed to his successful utilization of the lands previously granted to him and expressed his intentions to continue to assist travelers crossing the infamous desert and enlarge his settlement at Valverde. Melgares granted the request on June 1, 1820, subject to the same conditions as those imposed upon the Valverde Grant. Formal possession of the grant was delivered to Armendaris by Manuel Rubi, Alcalde of Belen[1] This second grant is commonly referred to as the Fray Cristobal Grant.

Armendaris continuously resided at Valverde and greatly improved his irrigated farms and ranching facilities until 1825 or 1826, when the incessant incursions of the hostile Indians finally compelled him to abandon his numerous projects, vacate the lands covered by the two grants, and seek refuge at Chihuahua. Thereafter, the grants remained unoccupied until after the United States acquired jurisdiction over the area. Meanwhile, the buildings at Valverde were reduced to ruins by the Indians and elements. The heirs of Pedro Armendaris petitioned the Surveyor General on September 6, 1859, requesting the confirmation of their claim to the Valverde and Fray Cristobal Grants. Surveyor General William Pelham investigated the consolidated claim and on July 10, 1859, reported:

The above grants were made according to the well established usages and customs of the country at the time, The grantee has held possession from the time the grant was made up to the present day, and no one having appeared showing a better title thereto, the original and subsequent additional grant are believed to be good and valid; they are therefore approved to the legal representatives of Pedro Armendaris, and ordered to be transmitted to Congress for its action in the premises.[2]

A transcript of the proceedings before the Surveyor General in nineteen private land claims was transmitted to Congress on February 3, 1860, by the Secretary of the Interior for its final action pursuant to the eighth section of the Act of July 22, 1854.[3] The consolidated claim by the heirs of Pedro Armendaris to the Valverde and Fray Cristobal Grants was designated as claim number 33. [4]

By Act approved June 21, 1860, Congress confirmed the Valverde and Fray Cristobal Grants, This act provided:

That the private land claims in the Territory of New Mexico, as recommended for confirmation by said Surveyor General in his reports and abstract marked Exhibit “A”, as communicated to Congress by the Secretary of Interior in his letter dated the third of February eighteen hundred and sixty, and numbered from twenty to thirty‑eight, both inclusive, be, and the same are hereby, confirmed, with the exception of the claim numbered twenty‑six .… [5]

The lands covered by the consolidated grants were surveyed in November, 1872, by Deputy Surveyor J. Howe Watts. His survey showed that the two grants embraced a total of 397,235 acres. William A. Bell protested the survey on the grounds that the east line of the grant had been incorrectly located. As a result of Bell’s protest, the east line of this survey was reformed on May 26, 1877, in order to exclude approximately 45,000 acres. The amended survey was finally approved on December 8, 1877, and a patent was issued to the legal representatives of Pedro Armendaris on January 4, 1878, for a total of 352,504.5 acres of land.

In 1882, L. S. Dixon requested the Attorney General to file suit to have this patent set aside on the grounds that, through fraud or mistakes, the west boundary of the Fray Cristobal Grant had been located approximately two and a half miles too far west. By decision dated September 21, 1893, Secretary of Interior, Hoke Smith, declined to recommend the institution of such a suit because, in his opinion, there was no evidence that the west boundary of the grant had been mislocated. [6]

Once title to the consolidated grant had been confirmed and its boundary questions settled, the Spanish and Mexican aspect of the history of the grant was concluded.

[1] Archive No, 1217 (Mss., Records of the A.N.M.).

[2] H.R. Exec, Doc. No. 14, 36th Cong., 1st Sess., 193‑220 (1860).

[3] An Act to Establish the office of Surveyor General of New Mexico, Kansas, and Nebraska, to grant donations to actual settlers therein, and for other purposes, Chap. 103, Sec. 8, 10 Stat. 308 (1854).

[4] H. R. Exec. Doc No. 14, 36th Cong., 1st Sess., 1‑2 (1860).

[5] An Act to Confirm Certain Private Land Claims in the Territory of New Mexico, Chap. 167, 12 Stat. 71 (1860) in view of the fact that there is no documentary evidence that juridical possession of the grant had been delivered to Arrnendaris, the decision of the Supreme Court in Graham v, United States, 4 Wall, (71 U.S.) 259 (1866), should be kept in mind. In the Graham Case, the Supreme Court stated “The Mexican law, as well as the common law, made formal delivery of possession, or livery of seizen of the property, essential after the execution of the grant, for the investiture of title,” This principle is again repeated in Van Reynegan v. Bolton, 95 U.S. 35 (1877) ; and Boudin v. Phelps, 30 F. 547 (9th Cir., 1887)

[6] The Pedro Armendaris Grant, No 33 (Mss, Records of the S.G.N.M.).

• Pedro Armendaris Grant Number 34 by J. J. Bowden

About the same time that he was requesting the additional lands covered by the Fray Cristobal Grant, Pedro Armendaris was also seeking a grant covering a tract of land lying northwest of his original grant at Valverde In this petition, which was dated May 1, 1820, and addressed to Facundo Melgares, Governor of New Mexico, Armendaris asked for a grant covering the following described land as a pasturage for his rapidly expanding flocks of sheep:

Beginning at a point on the west bank of the Rio Grande opposite the northwest corner of the Valverde Grant; thence in a northwesterly direction to the Ojo de Canas Verales; thence east one league; thence north two leagues; thence west four leagues; thence south two leagues; thence in a southeasterly direction to a point on the west bank of the river opposite a peak or knoll on the east bank of the river on the southern edge of the Mesilla del Contadero; and thence up the west bank of the river to the point of beginning.

On May 3, 1820, Melgares ordered the Alcalde of Belen to place Armendaris in legal possession of the lands which had been granted to him and directed the Alcalde to give Armendaris an appropriate instrument evidencing such proceedings.

While there is no evidence that Armendaris was ever formally placed in possession of the grant, it is well known that shortly after the date of the grant he stocked the premises with a large herd of sheep and a number of cattle and horses. However, it does not appear that he ever resided on the land or constructed any permanent improvements upon the grant. Thereafter, he continuously used the property as a pasturage for his livestock until he was forcibly expelled from the area in 1825 or 1826, due to the increased hostility of the Indians. The grant was not reoccupied until after the end of the Mexican War.

John G. Watts, as attorney for the heirs of Pedro Armendaris, filed a petition with the Surveyor General on June 22, 1857, requesting the recognition of the grant.

Following a thorough investigation of the claim, Surveyor General William Pelham, in a report dated July 20, 1859, found the grant to be good and valid and recommended its confirmation by Congress to the legal representatives of Pedro Armendaris,[1] The grant was designated as claim No. 34 in letter transmitting the matter to Congress, The third section of the Act approved June 21, 1860, confirmed 19 private land claims in New Mexico, including claim No. 34, as “recommended by the Surveyor General”. [2]

The grant was surveyed by Deputy Surveyor J. Howe Watts in November, 1872, The survey was approved on December 20, 1872, but was slightly modified in 1878 as a result of a boundary agreement between the owners of the Pedro Armendaris Grant, No 34 and the owners of the Bosque del Apache Grant. On September 17, 1878, a patent was issued to the legal representatives of Pedro Armendaris for the 95,030 acres embraced within the Pedro Armendaris Grant, No. 34. [3]

[1] H. R. Exec. Doc, No, 14, 36th Cong., 1st Sess., 220‑231 (1860).

[2] An Act to Confirm Certain Private Land Claims in the Territory of New Mexico, Chap. 167, Sec 3, 12 Stat. 71 (1860) In view of the fact that there is no evidence that juridical possession of the grant had been delivered to Armendaris, the case of Boudin v. Phelps, 30 F. 547 (9th Cir., 1887), should be noted. The Boudin Case hold that juridical possession is essential for the investiture of title.

[3] The Pedro Armendaris Grant, No. 34 (Mss., Records of the S.G.N.M.).

• The Pedro Armendaris Grant No. 33 by Michael Miller

Pedro Ascue de Armendaris was the collector of tithes and was the former First Lieutenant at the garrison in San Elizario. In 1819, he petitioned for the first of three land grants in the southern part of Nuevo Mexico. This tract of land was near Valverde and was located along the Camino Real. The land was good for cultivation and grazing of livestock. Governor Facundo Melgares referred the petition to the Alcalde of Belen, Manuel Ruvo de Celis, and ordered him to investigate the request. The request was approved by Governor Melgares with the conditions that Armendaris construct houses and corrals, enclose the fields and pasture livestock, keep his men well armed and furnish water and pasture for all travelers on the Camino Real. This tract came to be known as the Valverde Grant.

The success that Armendaris had at Valverde prompted him to petition for another tract of land south of the Valverde site. This grant came to be known as the Fray Cristobal Grant and the grant was delivered to him by Manuel Rubi, the new Alcalde of Belen in 1820. With these two enterprises Armendaris was able to greatly improve his irrigated farmlands and expand his ranching enterprise until around 1826, when hostile attacks by Apache and other tribes increased and forced him to seek refuge in Chihuahua. The land grants remained unoccupied until the United States took over jurisdiction of the region.

Around 1859, the heirs of Pedro Armendaris petitioned the Office of the Surveyor General requesting confirmation of the Valverde and Fray Cristobal grants. The Surveyor General consolidated the land claims and assigned claim number 33 to the case. At the time the two grants consisted of 397,235 acres. Following a protest by a neighboring landowner, by the name of William A. Bell, the Surveyor General reduced the total acreage to 352,504.5 acres.

Around 1820, Armendaris was also seeking possession of a land grant northwest of Valverde. His justification for this request was to expand his sheep flocks. Governor Melgares also approved this tract. Although he never resided on this land grant or constructed any permanent improvements he did move in a large flock of sheep and a herds of cattle and horses. He was forced to abandon this grant around 1826, as well due to hostile attacks by various Indian tribes. The grant was not reoccupied until after the end of the war with Mexico. The heirs of Pedro Armendaris filed a petition with the Office of the Surveyor General in 1857. This grant was assigned case number 34 by the Surveyor General and was confirmed for 95,030 acres in 1876.

• LAFORA, NICOLÁS DE