Date of Award

2025-05-01

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

History

Advisor(s)

Jeffrey Shepherd

Abstract

This dissertation research expands and deepens our understanding of the environmental and social impact of the extractivist industries in Grant County, New Mexico, from 1852 to 1999. Much of the scholarship around mining in the historiography tends to focus on Arizona and Northern New Mexico, given the centralization of the mining industry in places like Taos and Santa Fe. The impact of the mining industry on the unique ecosystem and people who resided in Grant County, New Mexico, has not been as thoroughly researched by scholars. Thus, this dissertation extends the literature by revealing how the extractivist industries permanently changed this area of southern New Mexico and Grant County to suit their profit-oriented needs and shaped the social context as they solidified their regional presence. This research is also significant given that the variety and volume of minerals found in Grant County exceed what has been unearthed in other regions of the Southwest. In addition, the legacy of environmental destruction these companies wrought has had a sustained negative impact on the arid landscape, fauna, native peoples, working class, and underrepresented communities that lived in Grant County. Grant County was established in the 1850s as part of the New Mexico Territory acquired by the United States following the U.S. invasion of Mexico. However, the territory was considered an arid and desolate region. There was also a sense of danger in this region because of the hostilities that were created with the Indigenous people (e.g., the Chiricahua Apache), who had lived in this region for generations and were forced to defend their lands against settlement. Prospectors and mining corporations systematically entered Grant County to mine the abundant raw materials. These factions fueled the success of the rapidly industrializing United States and developed an economy around mining in Grant County. The Chino Mine was the most successful of these operations and is North America's second-largest open pit mine today. The operations used by the mining industry slowly consumed the once-vast forests of the Pinos Altos and Mogollon Mountains. In addition, environmental hazards like air pollution, toxic waters, and debris from settling pools impacted the health and well-being of people, animals, and fauna in adjacent towns like Silver City and Bayard. Much of the flora was stripped away in the latter half of the 19th century, resulting in the famous flood of 1895, which ultimately destroyed part of the town of Silver City. The people who lived in these towns were at the behest of the mining corporations, as they dominated the economy and job opportunities in Grant County. Though the pull of the extraction industry was significant, by the late 1940s, people began to push back against the monopolies created by the mining industries. Unions like the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers were formed. They went on strike for higher wages and safer working conditions to address the toxic waste created by mining operations. The famous Empire Zinc strike of 1950 exemplified this. The union called for the right to sanitary living conditions, a reduction in pollution, and the elimination of exposure to the toxins that leached into their drinking water and sanitation systems. In the last half of the 20th century, efforts were made by community groups such as the New Mexico Wilderness Association, the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, and the citizenry of Grant County to regulate the mining industries and find alternatives for economic growth This led to the emergence of health tourism, which was intended to offset the complete control of the mining industry in the region. Though mining is still a significant part of Grant County today, a conscious effort has been made to make small, consistent changes to clean up the environmental degradation that impacted Grant County. At the same time, social agreements were established to expand the rights of peoples displaced by these extractivist industries, such as the Chihenne Nde Nation, which has been focused on becoming a federally recognized tribe to protect ancestral lands impacted by mining. Thus, this dissertation uses an intersectional framework to extend our knowledge of how the physical and social environment was transformed in the arid region of Grant County and how the region's Indigenous, Hispanic, and working poor suffered the consequences of processes used by the extractivist industries. â??

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

269 p.

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Benjamin Shultz

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