Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
Mine House Spring – Hayner Mine
The structure known as the Mine House is located on the west slope of the Organ Mountains, not too far from the foot of the mountains. Not much is known about the house, except that it was used by the Hayner Mine while the mine was being worked. Some sources say it was a bunk house. The site was selected evidently because of the spring nearby. The date Sept 1930 is scratched in the concrete of the building, suggesting a possible date for its construction.
The road to the Mine House is very rough, as this Youtube video shows.
The site is fascinating to visit:
The Mine House is the usual starting point for hiking to the Hayner Mine, which is 6 tenths of a mile from the house. The trek is uphill and challenging, but not too difficult.
A short distance above the Mine House there appears to be a grave:
The view of the mountains from above the Mine House is spectacular (click image for a larger view):
The view of the Mesilla Valley (click for larger image):
Tags: Las Cruces, Organ Mountains, History, Hiking
3 Responses to “Mine House Spring – Hayner Mine”
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June 3rd, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Heather said:
Thanks for sharing. I love looking at your photos and reading your posts. Keep up the good work.
April 26th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Samat Jain said:
By the way, according to Ingraham’s
A CLIMBING GUIDE TO THE ORGAN MOUNTAINS, the mine house is known as “Topp’s Hut.” Looking that name up in Google brings up a few other references to that house, so it seems that may be it’s (informal?) name.
October 3rd, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Cruces said:
It is often called “Topp’s Hut,” suggesting a “Topp” had something to do with it. Not true, so it’s unclear where the name came from.