Oliver Lee Memorial State Park
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park | |
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Location | Otero County, New Mexico, United States |
Coordinates | 32°44′48″N 105°54′58″W / 32.74667°N 105.91611°W |
Area | 640 acres (260 ha) |
Elevation | 4,363 ft (1,330 m)[1] |
Established | 1980[2] |
Named for | Oliver Lee |
Governing body | New Mexico State Parks Division |
Website | Oliver Lee Memorial State Park |
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, whose two tracts preserve a canyon in the Sacramento Mountains and Oliver Lee's historic 19th-century ranch house. The 640-acre (260 ha) park is located in Otero County at an elevation of 4,363 feet (1,330 m).[1] It is situated at the base of Dog Canyon and provides opportunities for camping, hiking, picnicking, wildlife viewing, a nature trail, and guided tours of the ranch house.
The Dog Canyon National Recreational Trail climbs to provide views of the Tularosa Basin and the Organ Mountains. Nearby are the community of Alamogordo and White Sands National Park. Oliver Lee Memorial State Park was established in 1980.[2]
History
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park consists of two separate parcels of land. Both parcels are historically significant. The Dog Canyon tract was used by Apache warriors as a defensive position and a base of operations during their numerous battles and wars with Euro-American explorers and settlers.[2] Oliver Lee's homestead near the mouth of Dog Canyon was built in 1893. Lee was an influential and controversial citizen of New Mexico's settlement. The ranch is now a historic site and demonstrates how the ranch home looked while Lee was living there.[2] As a well known rancher Lee was able to use his political influence to bring the railroad to nearby Alamogordo in 1898 and establish financial connections with influential citizens in El Paso, Texas.[2] Lee was a known associate of Albert B. Fall and once engaged in an ineffectual gun fight with Pat Garrett. The second and northern parcel of land, has been studied extensively by archaeologists to determine the cultural history of the area.[2]
Native Americans
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is situated in the Chihuahuan Desert. The Otero County area of New Mexico receives very little rain with an average yearly rainfall of just 11.6 inches (290 mm).[3] The fact that a perennially flowing stream of water passes through Dog Canyon made it an important location for settlement by Native Americans that lived in, and travelled through the Tularosa Basin.
The earliest known people to live in the area of the park were
The Paleoindians were followed by peoples of the
The
Early settlers
The Apache were eventually forced from their lands by the forces of the United States. The Oliver Lee Memorial State Park area saw numerous conflicts between the Apache and Anglo-Americans from 1848 until 1912.[2] The U.S. military and the Mescaleros had many confrontations within Dog Canyon itself over this time period during the Apache Wars.[2]
In February 1858, Lieutenant H. M. Lazelle attacked the Mescalero Apache in retaliation for a cattle raid on San Elizario, and was defeated. Lazelle reported that of his 22-man party three were killed and seven wounded in the skirmish in Dog Canyon.[4]
The first homestead in the area was established by François-Jean Rochas in 1885.[5] He built his home at the mouth of Dog Canyon. He lived in a two-room rock and adobe home. Rochas planted an orchard and built retaining walls on the ridges that flank the canyon. His home is marked by a partly reconstructed cabin on the interpretive trail that is west of the park's visitor center.[2]
The park's namesake, Oliver Milton Lee, arrived in the area from Buffalo Gap, Texas in 1893. He established a 320-acre (130 ha) ranch on land just south of Dog Canyon. Lee built a ranch house, barns, corrals, reservoir and slaughterhouse on his land. He also developed an irrigation system that provided water for his ranch from the stream in the canyon. Remnants of the water system can be seen at the park.[2] Oliver Lee later held office in the New Mexico Senate and continued operating his ranches until his own death in 1941. He was able to use his political influence to improve the area by bringing the railroad to Alamogordo in 1898.[2]
Lee sold his ranch in 1907. After a series of several owners, the ranch lands were made a part of the White Sands National Monument in 1939. Management of the 440-acre (180 ha) Dog Canyon tract was transferred to the State Parks Division in 1983, three years after the establishment of the parcel to the north of the canyon.[2] Ownership of the southern part of the park was transferred to the state of New Mexico in 1998.[2]
Albert Jennings Fountain murder case
The range war came to a boil in the winter of 1895-6. Colonel Fountain had gone to the Lincoln County court and obtained 32 indictments against 23 ranchers for theft of livestock or defacement of brands. Oliver Lee, Jim Gililland and William McNew were among the accused. This caused their being suspects in the February 1896 disappearance and presumed murder of Colonel Fountain and his 8-year-old son Henry. They were pursued by Sheriff
It was almost three years before the matter was settled in court. These events led to the political maneuvering which led to the formation of
Oliver Lee later held office in the New Mexico Senate and continued operating his ranches until his own death in 1941. He has several descendants still living and ranching in New Mexico.
As told by Jim Gililland's great niece Viola Smith-Hobbs, "Uncle Jim was a hired gun for Oliver Lee. He and Oliver Lee were accused of killing Colonel Albert J. Fountain and his son, Henry, at Chalk Hill, New Mexico at the point of the White Sands. The feud was over politics and a range war."[7]
Geology
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is at the base of the western escarpment of the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico. It contains Dog Canyon and land to the north of the canyon. The canyon is bisected by a perennial stream, a rarity in the Chihuahuan Desert.[2]
The Sacramento Mountains are a
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is on the edge of the
Dog Canyon was carved into the basin fill materials of sand, silt and clay by heavy runoffs of earth and water from the surrounding mountains. The heavy rocks and fast moving waters carved the canyon out over millions of years.
Water, flora and fauna
Water is a vital resource in the Chihuahuan Desert. The stream found in Dog Canyon has created a riparian environment in Oliver Lee Memorial State Park that is unique for the area. The stream is kept flowing by rain and snow-melt. The water seeps up from the ground in springs that naturally occur in the limestone formations of the park. The stream dries out just to the west of the park and the remaining water flows underground. It supports a small variety of insects and amphibians, but no fish.[2]
Trees found along the stream include Rio Grande cottonwood (
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is home to mammals that are typically found in the upper Chihuahuan Desert. They include
Recreation
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is open for year-round recreation. Recreational opportunities include hiking, camping, picnicking and wildlife viewing.[3] There are two trails at the park. Dog Canyon Trail begins at the visitor center and climbs the canyon walls over a distance of 5.5 miles (8.9 km) and rising 3,144 feet (958 m).[2] At the top of the canyon the trail enters the neighboring Lincoln National Forest. Aninterpretive trail at the park allow visitors to access the riparian environment along the stream in the canyon.[2] There are 44 campsites at the park, 16 of which have electric hookups.[9] Picnic areas are available in various locations of the park.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Oliver Lee State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. August 31, 1992. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai "Oliver Lee Memorial State Park: Management and Development Plan" (pdf). New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
- ^ a b "Oliver Lee Memorial State Park". New Mexico Energy, Mineral and Natural Resources Department. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
- ^ "Cultural Resources Miscellaneous Papers" (PDF). USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region Albuquerque, N.M. 35. December 1981.
- ^ "Oliver Lee Memorial State Park Photo Tour". New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
- ISSN 0043-3810.
- ^ "Another Accounting of the Infamous Jim Gililland". gililland.net. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
- ^ "Sacramento Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 30, 1990. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Oliver Lee Memorial State Park brochure" (PDF). New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. Retrieved July 21, 2010.