New Mexico Ghost Towns
Claunch
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County: Socorro
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Year Established: 1890's
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Year Abandoned: Semi-Ghost Town
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Population: 53 (As of 2020)
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Location: Claunch is 39 miles south of Mountainair on NM 55
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Remains: Tons to see! Worth the trip but please be respectful of residents
PLEASE BE AWARE OF RATTLESNAKES!
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About: Claunch was first established in the late 1890's under the name Dubois Flats and soon after renamed to Fairview. By 1936, the town was once again renamed to Claunch after a local rancher, Mr. L.H. Claunch.
At Claunch's peak there were five churches, a school, post office, two large grocery stores and mercantile stores, bean elevators and numerous residents.
The town shared the title of being the pinto bean capital of the world with Mountainair in its prime. Between the two towns pinto beans were supplied throughout New Mexico and as far away as England during World War II.
In 1945, a test of the atomic bomb took place approximately forty miles from Claunch. Reports of cows turning white from radiation were prevalent, and the local ranchers started taking their cows to the regional fairs to show them off.
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Claunch Cemetery
The old pinto bean elevator also served as the Ye Olde Dance Hall
Claunch High School
The Claunch School was built by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in 1939 and had a student body of almost 200 students by the 1940's. As farming declined due drought, attendance dwindled, and the school closed in the 1950's.
The Claunch Women's Club
The Claunch Women's Club was established in 1940 and is still active today. The Women's Club first served as an old Baptist Church but when membership declined, the Baptists gave it to the women of Claunch as a permanent place to meet.
Speare Mercantile Store
The now abandoned Speare Mercantile Store used to sell feed, clothing and tools. Back in the thirties and forties, the post office swapped locations back and forth between The Mercantile Store and the current post office, depending on who wanted to be postmaster.