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About coal mines at Carthage, Socorro County, New Mexico
In 1884, there were short railroad lines from San Antonio to the coal
mines at Carthage in Socorro County. Father Peter Joseph Pelzer was
the priest serving the valley near Socorro, New Mexico, plus his regular
church at Socorro. He visited all the small parishes nearby, including
San Marcial, Magdalena, Kelly, and the little coal town of Carthage,
all in New Mexico.
When the railway men carried Mexican nationals who had hired out to work
the mines, he would greet them. New company houses were built for
those who hired out, equipped with modern plumbing and bath tubs. But
the new arrivals stored wood and coal in the tubs to keep it from
theft. Father Pelzer urged the railroad company to put up wood sheds
after he learned how the bath tubs were being used.