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Some History of Gibson, New Mexico, southwest United States
Coal was discovered in 1882 at a site a few miles northeast of Gallup
in McKinley County, New Mexico, southwest United States. A miners' camp
grew up around that site and the Crescent Coal Company was organized.
John Gibson was hired as mine superintendent--he proved to be popular--and
the camp was named for him--Camp Gibson or just Gibson.
One market for coal was the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.
Mines in the coal basin near Gallup supplied 150 carloads of coal a week
by 1920. Gibson grew to 1,200 people. The community had a company store,
a school, a hospital, coal company offices and homes.
By 1940, the demand for coal had dwindled. The mine and the community
were abandoned. The post office closed in 1947. Today (2003) nothing
remains of Gibson except Gibson Canyon. Some of our maps remind
us of Gibson, now (2003) a ghost town.