CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- A Homestead discovery from the early twentieth-century may not generate much interest outside archeological circles, especially compared to the expansive back-dates of some of the earliest archaeological findings of about 11,500 years ago for the region.
Yet, in April of 2012, members from the 27th Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron came across a cultural discovery as crews were preparing for new military housing construction at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.
County records indicate a Mr. William G. Bruce filed a 160-acre homestead application in 1904. On his piece of land Bruce would lay the foundation for a two-room, half dugout home, which as the name implies consisted of a modest structure almost half-way buried in the ground due to the lack of abundant building material on the plains.
“We couldn’t believe that we had stumbled across remnants of someone’s homestead,” said Brandy Chavez, 27th SOCES environmental chief. “It is not every day you discover something of this magnitude and when we did, we immediately informed the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office, which led to a series of processes that had to be followed to ensure full compliance with state and federal statutes.”
What followed was an archeological survey of LA 172689, the Bruce home, and LA 173359, two shallow trenches associated with a latrine. While no structure of the home remains, surveyors found hundreds of ceramic, metal and glass artifacts.
One touching finding was a heart-shaped pendant. While we may never know the owner of this tin stamped, floral designed motif, comfort can be taken in knowing it has been resurrected and serves as a gentle reminder that even during this challenging time for early settlers, some key human emotions – love, or the prospect of it, hope and passion – lingered for its rightful owner.
Indeed they were challenging times as homesteader Charles W. Eller described:
“When we came to New Mexico there was a shack or half dugout every quarter section. Many of the settles were single men or women. There were many bachelors, and most of them had a one room shanty with a flat topped stove and an oven above the first joint of the stove pipe. Many pepered (sic) there (sic) walls with pages from the Sears Roebuck catalogue. They used nail kegs for chairs and tables made from one by twelve (boards). They had a coffee pot, a fry pan, a chipped plate or two and tin cup.”
Some of these brave settlers came to the town of Blacktower that was located immediately north of Cannon’s main gate and where a few headstones remain in its cemetery. The surveys reveal a town that was well connected with the early twentieth century world in large part thanks to the railroad infrastructure traversing Blacktower and other neighboring towns that have long lost their residents.
“The railroad was key back then as it still is today for our economy,” said Chavez. “Today we know it as on-line shopping, back then they had catalogues; and while they didn’t have overnight delivery trucks coming to their door steps, they had locomotives instead, something quite impressive since we are talking over 100 years ago.”
While towns dim, people get displaced and landscapes change, Blacktower seemed destined for something unique. Post-early twentieth settlement, what remains of Blacktower’s doorstep has been witness to change from homesteader to farmsteader to defenders of our nation as a result of Cannon’s evolution.
Regardless of the role this land supports, one must acknowledge the spirit and braveness of the souls who have and presently call it home. From the Paleo-Indians hunting Mammoths, to homesteaders facing indiscriminately challenging weather and land conditions, to Air Commandos and families making sacrifices and rising to our nation’s call, there seems to a heart-shaped pendant in all. Our present day pendant can represent love of country and family; hope for mission success and professional and personal improvement; and a passion to serve a cause greater than one’s self.
Editor’s Note: The 27th SOW would like to thank the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office, Geo-Marine Inc., Eastern New Mexico University, Clovis Historian Harold Kilmer and the Bruce family for their assistance in the development of the report. Curation of the collections from the homestead will be housed at the Museum of Indian Arts and Cultural Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe New Mexico once completed.