The mini series Godless has really piqued my interest in the historical background of the mining town of La Belle. I did some investigation and found an old hand drawn map from about 1895 of the mining town of La Belle. I then found another general map from that time that seemed to put it several miles north east of Red River. So I went on Google Earth and started scanning through an area northeast of Red River where Commanche Creek (shown on the old hand made map) moves in a southeasterly direction. There was only one general area where that happened. Low and behold Google Earth identified a smaller creek coming off of Commanche Creek called -- you guessed it -- La Belle creek. I followed the creek southwest until I came to a clump of trees where the hand made map showed a telegraph line passed through. And WOW, I could actually see the telegraph line posts still standing over 100 years later. Looked to the northwest of the telegraph line where the hand made map put a stage coach road coming to La Belle and sure enough I could actually see the old stage coach road coming into the town of La Belle. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the ghost town of La Belle. Apparently somebody attempted to make a go of a lodge at the site of old La Belle and by putting in the lodge, they destroyed what remained of La Belle. All you can see now is the lodge the was abandoned in the early 1980s. It is really amazing to me to see the evidence of efforts and lives of real people trying to make a way in their world. Their lives have long since been extinguished but evidence of their dreams and sweat are still present and viewable from my computer. My family and I take UTVs and four wheelers into the mountains of New Mexico every year. I have plotted out a path that gets us within 1.75 miles of La Belle. I plan on seeing the telegraph poles, stage coach tracks, and mines left behind this fall.
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